


Endless Slumber

by OceanSurfer808



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Friends to Lovers, Light Masochism, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-27
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-11-05 09:23:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 59,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11010570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OceanSurfer808/pseuds/OceanSurfer808
Summary: A stealth mission goes horribly wrong and Keith is gravely wounded.  The team puts him into a healing pod, but he doesn't wake up for months.  Lance blames himself for Keith's injuries and comes up with a crazy idea to wake Keith up.  He volunteers to enter another pod and join with Keith's mind in an effort to wake him up.  Lance finds himself in a world of Keith's design where getting him to wake up is harder than he ever anticipated.//Minor edits 3/28/2018 to bring Lance's family names closer to canon.





	1. Awakening

Chapter 1: Awakening

The alarm was sounding. Keith bolted upright in bed, instinctive panic gripping his chest. He hated that noise. No matter how soundly he’d been sleeping, that alarm would bring him to a fully awake status in a split instant. He reached over and smacked the alarm clock with his fist silencing the little bastard. He could never use the snooze button like normal people. Whenever he woke up from hearing an alarm, he was fully awake and primed to kick someone’s ass. 

He swung his legs over the side of the bed, his bare feet landing on the fuzzy carpet. He took a moment to squish his toes in it. He’d been doing this as long as he could remember, but for some reason, it always made him feel good to know some things in this world don’t change. His dad had been talking about ripping up the old shag carpet for years, but never got around to it. In fact, his dad really didn’t ever change much in the house at all. Keith figured it had something to do with his mother. She’d been gone as long as Keith could remember. He couldn’t even remember what she looked like and there were no pictures of her. He always thought that was weird, but the pained look on his father’s face whenever he asked about her was too much to bear.

Keith stood up and walked into his bathroom. His hair was a matted mess. He ran his fingers through it and figured it would be fine under a swim cap during practice. He tossed on some jogging pants and a red t-shirt, he made his way out into the kitchen area. On the table were his swim bag and a note from his dad.

“Working late again tonight. Food in fridge. Practice suit washed and in your bag. Love, Dad.”

Brief and to the point as usual. His dad wasn’t one for a lot of words. He raised Keith as well as he could alone, but it took a lot of effort for him. Being a firefighter was glamorous only in the movies. What it usually amounted to were long shifts for days on end. Between his dad’s work and his school, they hardly got to see each other anymore. 

Keith made himself a small breakfast and chowed down fast. If he didn’t hurry, he’d be late for practice. Tossing the backpack with his practice suit, flip flops, and towel on his shoulder, he ran out to the garage and hopped on his bike.

The Garrison Lions had one more week of full day swim practice after today before school started for the semester. The coach had been working them for two weeks solid now. Some of the team had let themselves go during the summer. Keith had made it a priority to swim every day possible during the break. He loved the way the world felt when he was in the water. Just him against the elements. He was good too. Last year they came in first place in their division at the state tournament. The swim team’s success, along with the football team taking the division title, bumped their school up a division in the state. They would be going up against all new teams this year.

Keith got to the pool with plenty of time to spare. He chained up his bike and jogged inside. Several members of the team and the coach were sitting on the bleachers off to the side. Coach waved him over.

“Don’t get changed. We’re going on a field trip today,” Coach Shiro told him.

Shiro had been the star of the team when he was at Garrison High. After he graduated, the school asked him to consider coaching the team since the previous coach was retiring. Shiro had hoped to make it to the Olympics, but a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder killed that dream. It was his own fault. He knew the pain during the last meet of the championship several years ago was going to be trouble, but he refused to give up and did more damage to his shoulder than could be repaired. He won, but the Olympics would never happen. Instead, he poured his heart and soul into coaching the Lions. He had a good team. He had a great team. Several stars would end up with college scholarships, including Keith. Once Shiro managed to help Keith harness that pent up anger and aggression he carried around, the kid was a natural. Now in his senior year, Keith was a near unstoppable force.

“Field trip?” Keith asked his coach. They’d been practicing all week and he figured Saturday would be some time trials to see where everyone stood. He wasn’t going to complain. Shiro had been working them hard and he was tired and sore. The whole team was. No one was going to complain about a day off. The Saturday to Saturday schedule for a month solid was exhausting.

“We’re going to go over to Galra High to watch them practice,” Shiro informed the group.

“I want you to get a look at the team and see how they practice. Since we’re in the same division now, we may end up facing them at some point,” he told them. “I will tell you that their coach was all for this.”

“‘Bring them, let them see the instrument of their defeat,’ were her exact words I believe,” Shiro said that with a straight face. “Coach Haggar takes things very very seriously. Which is why they’ve probably been state champs for eight years running.”

The bus pulled up and Shiro gestured them all to get on. The ride was full of bravado and comments of how the Galra High team would go down in any matches they had against them. Keith knew better. This division change was going to be a shell shocker for the team. They were going to have to really step up their game this year. Shiro’s idea of showing them the champions would definitely be a wake-up call for them.

The bus arrived and the team filed out. The Galra High pool was more like a true stadium. The cement seating on either side of the pool went up for several levels. Banners hung over the walkway into the stadium marking the team’s past victories. It was almost like some military installation. It was meant to remind the Galra crowd of how powerful their team was and make sure that any opponents who came here felt awestruck. It worked.

Shiro led the team a few rows up facing the starting area of the pool. He then went down to talk to Coach Haggar. She was wearing a hoodie with the cowl pulled down over the top of her face. Keith could only make out her jawline, sharp nose, and piercing eyes. Those eyes. It sent a chill down his spine.

Shiro came back up and told them to watch the team practice and how they responded to Haggar’s coaching. He pointed out a few things as the other team swam through some practice routines. They were good. Even the practice times were good. They were going to be a tough opponent to beat.

Keith noticed the team focused their attention on the locker room door as another swimmer came out. He had his cap on, goggles down, ready to go. He took a position on a block and stretched his arms over his head. Keith could not tear his eyes away. The swimmer was gorgeous. His muscle tone was perfect and seeing him stretch showed off every inch of it. Keith could see how the swimsuit formed perfectly to his body stretching from low on his hips to just above the knees. The purple accents down the side of the suit almost glowing with energy. 

The new swimmer looked up at the audience. He swept the onlookers with his gaze. Haggar had told him a rival team would be watching today. After panning back and forth a couple times, his eyes settled on Keith. There was the alpha of the team. That is the one who would need to be broken to cause their team to fall apart. He saw the onlooker staring at him. A cruel smile curled at the swimmer’s lips. That wasn’t just a typical stare. The one with the mullet was checking him out. That opened up a whole slew of strategies for causing damage to that team. He smiled a pleasant smile up to the stands and took his mark.

Keith could not stop staring. Something about that swimmer caused his mind to race. Well, his mind, heart, and other things. He was powerful, yet familiar. Keith couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He commanded his team’s attention and you could feel the power he exuded even at this distance.

The starting buzzer sounded and the Galra team dove in. The mystery swimmer moved with the grace of a dolphin and the ferocity of a shark. His strokes were timed perfectly to maximize his momentum through the water. When he hit the wall to flip around, there was no wasted energy. The other swimmers were left far behind in a matter of seconds. By the time it was over, he was waiting several seconds at the wall for them to catch up.

Keith watched as the swimmer pulled himself out of the water. Once he was standing, he pulled the goggles and swim cap off his head. Long flowing white hair fell down along the swimmer’s shoulders. Keith realized he had stopped breathing. The swimmer turned to their team and smiled again. 

“Who is that?” Keith leaned over and asked Shiro.

“That’s their team captain. Lotor,” Shiro responded quietly.

Keith watched as Lotor walked towards the locker room. At the last second, Keith saw the white hair flip around and was fixed with another stare and a smile from Lotor before he disappeared through the doors. Keith shivered. Unsure what emotions were going through his body. 

Shiro rounded up the team and herded them back on the bus. There was no bravado coming from them on the way back. Just somber silence as they all realized this season was going to be a challenge. 

Keith got off the bus and got to his bike before Shiro or any of the team could socialize with him. His mind was racing faster than his pedals were turning on the way home. He reheated the food his father left for him and ate it slowly without even tasting it. He wandered into his room and stripped off his shirt and jogging pants crawling into bed in his boxer briefs. He pulled the covers over himself and drifted into a fitful sleep. Thoughts of Lotor invading his mind.

\----------

“Why hasn’t he woken up?”

“I don’t know Lance. Sometimes it just takes more time,” Allura said in a sad voice.

Lance stared at Keith’s stiff form in the stasis tube. Keith wasn’t in the usual white healing suit. He was still wearing the Blade of Marmora uniform. A tear in the suit on Keith’s right side still stained with his blood.

Allura walked up and put her hand on Lance’s shoulder. “His body is healed, you can see that where the wound was. His mind just might need time to recover.”

“It’s been over two months,” Lance said in an exhausted tone. “It always works faster than that. Even when I was about gone it was faster than that.”

“Give it time Lance. Just give it time.” Allura slowly left the pod room.

Lance walked up, putting his hand on the front of Keith’s pod. “Come on buddy, come back to me.”


	2. Mistakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance suggests a plan for a mission and Keith ends up gravely wounded.

Chapter 2: Mistakes

Lance blamed himself for Keith’s condition. It was his fault Keith went on the mission. It was his fault Keith got hurt. It was all his fault.

\----------

Once Zarkon had been sidelined, the team thought things would be easier. There was a brief period of chaos as they searched for Shiro, but when the distress call came in from Shiro and Matt, the whole situation changed. As soon as Shiro returned along with Matt, all their spirits rose. The team was back together. They freed several new planets and even began offensive strikes against Galra territory. And that is when it all went to hell.

Turns out good old Zarkon had a kid who was a chip off the old block. A very mean chip. As soon as Haggar brought Lotor in from whatever remote murder-death-fest he’d been on, the trouble started. Almost all the ground that the team and their allies had gained after taking down Zarkon was lost in the space of a few months. Zarkon was all about power. Lotor was about manipulation. He was an amazing strategist. A very conniving and cruel strategist. Somehow he knew exactly how to demoralize entire populations and strike at exactly the right points to bring them to their knees. Whether it was creating a scandal with a royal family, killing the leader of a resistance movement, or laying a trap to take out an entire planetary fleet, Lotor knew what he was doing.

The Blade of Marmora made it a priority to take Lotor down. Their leadership believed he was likely a greater threat than Zarkon. Rumor has it that Lotor wanted to overthrow daddy dearest for years and that’s one reason Zarkon and Haggar kept him in far isolated territories. Once Zarkon was at least temporarily removed from power, Lotor was free to move in and take control. Haggar being the opportunist she was, stepped right up to his side. 

Several teams of the shadow organization had tried and failed to assassinate Lotor. He was always one step ahead of them. It couldn’t be a leak in the Blade’s ranks or they would have been compromised by Zarkon long before this. Lotor was just too good at figuring out where the chess pieces were moving at any given time.

Keith was contacted by one of the Blade’s members. They had received intel that Lotor would be leading a small force to a remote planet in an effort to kidnap a dignitary that would then be held for ransom. The dignitary would be there for a very short window to sign a treaty with a neutral planet to open some trade routes. It was an opportunity that needed to be taken advantage of.

“Absolutely not!” Allura proclaimed as soon as Keith gave his briefing. “We will not assassinate Prince Lotor. We will not stoop to his level. This team is better than that. I’m sorry Keith, but I cannot allow us to get involved.”

“Lotor has been chipping away at everything we’ve managed to accomplish! We have to do something about him. If we have a chance, we should take it,” Keith tossed out to the group.

Shiro was weighing the options in his head. “Keith, I’m with Allura. Setting the assassination thing aside, it’s just too dangerous. The Blade only has two operatives close enough to reach there in time. We wouldn’t be the support, we’d be the main force. As well connected as Lotor is, he’d know we were coming way before we got there.”

Keith looked down at the floor. “There’s technically three Blades close enough.”

“Woah, bad idea. Very bad idea,” Hunk chimed in. “Those guys are like the stealth ninja clan. You aren’t a ninja yet Keith. I mean you wear that purple suit sometimes and have the knife sword thing, but you’re more punching than stealthing.”

“Hunk does have a point,” Pidge piped up. “The mission would have to be primarily stealth and the Lions aren’t able to be hidden very well. Even Green can only stay cloaked for a small amount of time.”

“Come on guys! This is Keith we’re talking about! He can kick anyone’s ass.”

Everyone’s eyes turned towards Lance. It was one of those weird moments where everyone turned in slow motion unable to believe what they were hearing.

“I mean, except mine right? Because I could totally kick Keith’s ass. But if he thinks the three of them can get Lotor, isn’t it worth it? A little Prince snatch and grab? He’d be pretty valuable if we caught him. We might even be able to cripple the Empire’s command structure.”

“Lance, how do you propose to insert the three on the planet without tipping off Lotor?” Shiro asked.

“Well, Keith can’t pilot them in. I mean his Lion goes all mama cat crazy when her little red cub is threatened. That would blow the op real quick. What if I take them to the edge of the system in Blue and they can launch on skiffs to the planet? Blue can form some ice asteroids to help hide us from any sensor scans. We’ll just look like misplaced comet crumbs or something. I’ll hang there out of range, watch for any sign of a trap, and back them up if there’s trouble.”

Keith was almost speechless. “That’s actually a good plan Lance.”

“Of course it is! I thought of it,” Lance beamed with pride.

Allura looked to Shiro for advice as her brow furrowed.

“I don’t like it, but Lance’s plan could work. If there’s a chance we could get Lotor it might be worth it. Pidge can you help create some additional interference to help with Lance’s ice comet asteroid idea?”

“Sure, but it might cause some interference with communications. I’ll see what I can come up with.”

Keith looked genuinely grateful towards Lance. “Lance, thanks for doing this. It means a lot to me.”

“No problem buddy. You and the Blades of Melmac can catch that jerk and we’ll be that much closer to going home,” Lance said with a smile.

Keith shook his head. He wasn’t sure if Lance was diffusing a tense situation or really that clueless. Either way, a small smile tugged at Keith’s lips. “Marmora. Blade of Marmora.” 

“That’s what I said! Let’s get going, not much time for us to get in position,” Lance said as he sprinted out of the room with Keith close behind.

\------

Lance picked up the two Blade agents on the way to the Troykar system. There were no populated planets in the system, but a large moon of one of the planets had a breathable atmosphere. Lance brought Blue to the edge of the system as the Blade agents got ready. They were all in their purple stealth suits which would keep them insulated during the trip into the system on the skiffs. Lance stared at Keith in his purple outfit.

“What? Is there something on me?” Keith asked in an irritated tone while cranking his head around to look at his backside.

Lance snapped out of whatever trance he was in. “No, just admiring your curves in that suit.” Followed by his trademark double finger guns aimed squarely at Keith.

“Good grief Lance, are you ever serious?” Keith fixed him with a tense stare.

“It is time Keith,” one of the other Blades said and mounted his skiff.

Keith turned around and climbed on his skiff. He felt a hand on his shoulder gripping him.

“Come back safe, ok?”

Keith blinked at Lance as he moved back to the control chair. Keith thought about saying something, but there was no more time.

“Launch in 3, 2, 1, GO!!!!!!” Lance shouted as the Lion’s mouth opened. The three skiffs shot out of the mouth and Blue followed them up with ice chunks to cover their approach. To anyone on the moon, it would look like an asteroid impact deep in the system had splintered off some ice shards that just happened to be headed for the moon.

Lance watched them go. A grumble deep in the pit of his stomach making him wish he hadn’t suggested this. He had Blue form some larger ice chunks that he piloted them in between. The last thing to do was flip on Pidge’s ‘extra space noise generator’ which would supposedly help mask Blue even more.

\------

Lance was reduced to playing Pong on the handheld system Pidge built for them a few months ago. It had been three days since the mission had started. They were under radio silence so not hearing anything was to be expected. Lance kept an eye out for Galra cruisers, but nothing had shown up yet. A small ship had shown up yesterday which, according to all the intel they had, should have been the neutral planet’s representative. The dignitary should pop up anytime now. Actually, their ship should have already popped up. And where were the Galra? Even if the dignitary was delayed they should have shown up by now.

Lance looked at Blue’s sensor readouts. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing at all. That feeling in Lance’s stomach went from bad to worse. The other ship should have been here by now. If the negotiations had been called off, shouldn’t the neutral ship have left by now? Lance decided to take a chance and get closer to the moon.

Blue moved forward gradually. He didn’t want to give away their position if nothing was wrong. Lance reached over and flipped off Pidge’s interference generator in case it was interfering with comms. Blue moved in a little closer and Lance heard static on the comm channel.

“...Lance…”

It was so quiet Lance questioned whether or not he actually heard it, but then it came again.

“Lance… help me.”

Fuck the mission. Lance kicked Blue into full speed and approached the moon. With Pidge’s interference generator off and a shorter distance, Lance opened the comm channel.

“Marmora insertion team, what is your status?” He practically yelled over the comms.

“Two dead, one wounded. It was… trap.”

Lance knew it was Keith’s voice. It didn’t sound like Keith, but it was him.

“Hold on Keith, I’m on my way.”

Lance used Blue’s sensors to triangulate Keith’s position on the surface. He was a few clicks from the neutral planet’s shuttle. Based on the number of Galra bodies around the shuttle, there never was a neutral representative. Blue set down on the surface and Lance could feel the tension coming from the Lion. This was bad. He popped out the lower hatch and dropped to the surface. Lance used the jet pack to hop to Keith’s position. When he got there, his breath caught in his throat.

Keith was lying up against a large rock surrounded by downed Galra and sentry parts. His purple suit was torn in multiple places and a gash on his right side had lost enough blood to soak the suit around it and leave a substantial puddle on the ground.

“KEITH!!!!!!” Lance ran towards his side. “Blue, full transmission power now! Blue Lion to Castle. Need immediate portal and extraction from the moon. It was a trap. Keith is… Keith is badly wounded. Prep a stasis pod. Get here NOW!”

Lance skidded to a stop next to Keith. He inspected the deep slice into Keith’s side. It was bad. Really bad. Keith’s color wasn’t natural. He was taking on a blue hue and his breathing was ragged. Lance grabbed Keith’s arms and tossed him over his shoulders. Keith screamed in pain as Lance ran him to Blue. They boarded quickly and Lance set Keith down against the back console while he broke orbit from the planet. 

The Castle popped out of a portal a ways in the distance. Lance set Blue to autopilot rapid docking mode and got up to check on Keith. He was more ashen than he had been on the planet. Another pool of blood had gathered on the deck beneath Keith’s wound.

Lance sat down in front of Keith and pressed his hand against the giant open wound hoping to stop some blood loss. Keith’s face contorted in pain as the pressure was applied. Lance felt Keith weakly grab his other hand. He gripped back tight.

“Thanks for coming… for me,” Keith choked out the words as a little blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. “I’m glad… Glad I got to see you one last time.”

“Shut up mullet, this isn’t over yet. Shiro, Allura, where are you? Keith, just hang on. We’re almost home.”

“Home… I want to go home,” Keith mumbled as his head tilted to the side.

“No no no no NO NO!” Lance yelled as the Lion’s mouth opened and Shiro came running up.

“Oh my god…” Shiro rushed to Keith and helped Lance lift him. 

Together they pulled him out and down the corridor to the stasis pod room. Coran had one prepped for Keith. There wasn’t time to get him into a stasis suit so they just put him inside as is. The pod’s door sealed. Lance fell to his knees in front of it staring at Keith.

“Did we get him here in time?” his voice cracked as he looked towards Coran.

“Tough to say. Still some life signs, but he lost a lot of blood. His brain may have been deprived of oxygen too long. All we can do now is wait and see what happens.” Coran stepped away from the control console. Sensing that Lance needed some alone time, he and Shiro left the room.

Lance spent the whole night in front of Keith’s pod. Lance blamed himself. He encouraged the mission. He came up with the plan to insert them. He was on patrol and missed the signs of the ambush. Keith wouldn’t be in there now if it wasn’t for him. His tears left a small pool on the floor in front of the pod.

\------

Two months later and Keith’s body had healed. The pod readouts showed green and the wound where the giant gash near the hole in the Marmora suit had healed. However, Keith still hadn’t woken up.

Everyone was cautious around Lance. He’d been in a state of near depression since the incident. Lance was a tough one to read on a normal day, but now he was downright gloomy. The self-guilt was starting to take its toll on him. He hadn’t been eating or sleeping well. Missions were all on hold for the time being.

The group had gathered for breakfast and Shiro was hoping later to propose their first mission since Keith’s ambush. He rethought that plan as he stared at Lance poking at his food goo absentmindedly.

Lance was moving the goo around his plate without making a move to eat it. One of the Altean mice wandered up, grabbed a piece, and wandered off. Lance scowled but made no move to stop it. A few minutes later, another mouse did the same.

Lance watched each mouse steal his food and run in opposite directions. Suddenly lance sat up and his eyes got huge. 

“Mice,” he muttered. “Mice!” Suddenly he stood up and ran out of the room. 

The rest of the team stared at each other wondering if he’d finally snapped when Lance ran back in the room. He grabbed Pidge, yanking her out of her seat.

“Come on!!!!!” He yelled as Pidge looked back at the group with a combination of fright and curiosity on her face.

Hunk continued eating as Shiro and Allura got up to follow the duo. The trail lead them down to the stasis pod room. Lance was chatting excitedly with Pidge while she nodded her head.

“Maybe. It might be possible. It would take some serious cross wiring and I can’t guarantee you what would actually happen,” Pidge talks out loud to Lance and herself.

“Can someone please explain what’s going on?” Shiro asked with exhausted calm.

“The mice. They stole my food,” Lance explained as though that would clear things up.

“And?” Allura prompted.

Lance scrunched his face in frustration and began to explain. “One stole my food, then another, then another. The one did it and then told the others to come get free food.”

Hunk popped through the door licking the last of the green goo off his fingers. “So, they like the goo too.”

“But how did they tell each other?” Lance frantically looked at the group. “Telepathically! They were cooped up in the same stasis pod with Allura for 10,000 years. In there, they all mind bonded or something.”

At this point, Pidge stepped in to rescue Lance. “Lance was wondering if the mice could get inside each other’s heads from sharing a pod, was it possible someone might be able to share Keith’s mind from another pod. I’ve looked things over and I think it could work. The mice’s exposure was gradual over time and accidental. If I tune the frequencies of the pods, the merging could happen much faster. Someone just might be able to go inside Keith’s head from another pod.”

“And wake him up!” Lance finished proudly.

“Or fry both their brains,” Pidge added for clarification.

Lance glared at Pidge but smiled when he addressed everyone else. “We can wake him up. Go into whatever nightmare he’s stuck in and pull him out.”

Shiro stepped forward. “How long will it take to set that up Pidge?”

“Two, maybe three days with Coran’s help.”

“Fine, do it. I’ll go in and yank him out,” Shiro volunteered. “As soon as it’s ready, let me know.” 

“No.”

Lance’s voice was quiet, but the tone captured everyone’s attention.

“I’m going in after him. It’s my fault he’s stuck in there and I’m getting him out. No arguments.” 

Allura and Shiro stared at each other before both nodded.

\------

True to her word, Pidge and Coran had things hooked up three days later. They were running a final diagnostic when Lance entered the room dressed in a stasis suit.

“Ok, nap time!” Lance announced with a comical edge that didn’t quite hide the shakiness of his voice.

Coran looked at Lance and nodded solemnly. “There’s a few things you should know going in. And, these are just educated guesses mind you, but they’re probably right. First, you’ll be going into Keith’s mind. Whatever reality he has created and is living, you’re stuck with it. Second, you’ll bring along some pieces of yourself to fill in mental blanks that Keith won’t have. Third, because we’re putting you in like this, you should remember everything. You’ll know why you’re in there, but Keith will only know his fantasy world. He might not even know who you are. Fourth, to get him out, you’ll have to force his brain to remember the real world. It might take subtle hints or a major shock to do it. Either way, he has to break out of it or you’ll both be stuck in there for a long time. Fifth, good luck! You’ll need it.”

Lance nodded and stepped up to the second pod. He was 50/50 with these pods so far. One saved his life after he was severely injured. One tried to freeze him to death when the castle was having a minor possession issue. He could live with those odds if it meant getting Keith back.

Everyone in the room quietly said good luck and the pod closed up on Lance.


	3. Homecoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance makes it into Keith's subconscious and starts trying to find Keith. Things don't go smoothly.

Chapter 3: Homecoming

Lance yawned while stretching his arms and legs. He was slightly confused when his long arms didn’t hit the ceiling of his sleeping berth. That’s when he remembered. He wasn’t on the Castle anymore. He was in Keith’s head.

“Woah. It worked,” Lance muttered to himself as he rolled around in the worn cotton sheets. They smelled and felt like he remembered his Earth bed. Which made sense. Coran said that his brain would fill in gaps Keith didn’t know about. Lance’s sheets would definitely be one of those. Keith had never been in Lance’s bed.

He jumped up and walked to the old wooden dresser. Glancing in the large mirror on top, Lance grinned. He was wearing his favorite rubber ducky pajamas. Oh, how he missed those comfy pajamas. All his face creams and mud masks were arranged neatly on top of the dresser. He opened one and smelled the lavender scent that wafted from the open lid.

“This is great!” He thought to himself. Whatever world Keith had cooked up in his head, it was very real. Lance flicked his ear. The pain was real too. For all practical purposes, this was reality for the time being.

Lance wandered out of his room. The layout of the house was exactly what he remembered from back home. If he didn’t know that this was in Keith’s brain, he’d think the entire space Paladins thing was just a dream. Lance stopped dead in his tracks as he walked into the kitchen.

“Morning sweetie!” The tiny woman standing next to the stove said in a loving voice. 

Lance’s voice choked in his throat. “Mom…?” His feet were moving before he realized it. He wrapped his long arms around the woman and felt a tear roll down his cheek. “I missed you so much, Mom.”

“Missed me? I haven’t left the house in two days you silly boy. What’s gotten into you, honey?” Her expression was one of confusion as she looked at her crying son.

“Oh, right. Sorry. I think I had a bad dream that I was far away from home.” Lance stepped back and wiped the tears from his face. She wasn’t actually real. She was just part of his memories manifesting physically inside Keith’s head. That made the homesick feelings he’d had since they fled Earth even worse. He needed to find Keith and fix this mess. 

Lance took the family laptop into his room and set it down on his bed. He walked over to the dresser and picked up the lavender face mask cream. “Might as well indulge myself while I’m stuck inside Keith’s goofy world.” Lance put some cream on his hands and rubbed it all over his face. “Oh how I missed you old friend,” he told the cream as he set the tube down on the dresser.

“Ok, Keith. How do I find you in Koganeville? Wait, the town couldn’t actually be named Koganeville could it? That would be so awesome!” His initial launch of the browser brought up a news page of some kind. Much to his disappointment, the city was not named Koganeville. According to the weather map on the site, they were on a coastline of some sort. Nothing matched up with his knowledge of the real Earth. The city was called New Meridian and sprawled out along the ocean for quite a ways. The temperature forecast for the day was 83°F with sunny skies. Lance could work with that. Maybe there were some waves at the beach he could sneak a ride or two on before this fantasy ended.

Lance tried entering Keith Kogane into the search bar and was rewarded with some links to news stories. It seems that Keith was a star swimmer in this fantasy world. He read through stories about the Garrison High Lion’s team winning state in their division last year and how Keith broke some record or other. “My my. Aren’t you the swimmer stud in your dreams Keith?” Lance chuckled to himself.

“Mom! What school do I go to?” Lance yelled over his shoulder.

“Garrison High of course. Honey, did you hit your head on something?” his mother responded quizzically from the kitchen.

Lance smiled and looked up the Garrison High schedule. School started next week. “Oh, now that’s interesting,” he purred as the swim team schedule popped up. “They’ve got practice this week before classes start. I bet Keith will be practicing with them. I can go to practice tomorrow and I can wake him up.” He hopped up and went to the dresser again picking up several of the face creams and made his way towards the shower.

“I’ll be in the shower exfoliating if you need me,” he yelled out to his mother.

“Such a weird boy,” his Mom said to herself.

\------

First thing Monday morning, Lance got out of bed and jumped through the shower. He knew swim practice started at 8 AM according to the schedule so he was going to get there by 7:30 in the hope of jogging Keith’s memory and getting back to the real world as soon as possible. 

He was pleasantly surprised to find his old run down Camaro parked out front. He used to be so proud of that car. Even with the out of tune engine and the rust forming over the wheel wells, it was a great car. It hadn’t been easy to afford. Lance had worked for over a year at a fast food joint to get enough to pay for it. “Not exactly a Lion, but she’ll do,” he thought to himself as he climbed behind the wheel.

When he pulled into the school pool parking lot, there were only a few other cars there. Lance walked up and opened the chain link gate that led into the pool area. The Garrison High pool was large enough to host competitions, but there wasn’t much for crowd seating. The metal bleachers that were there had been bent over time by the enthusiastic jumping of parents and students. The pool itself was standard fare. It was Olympic length at 50 meters, but only had six lanes for swimmers.

Lance spotted Keith talking with one of his other teammates. He started walking in that direction when he noticed Shiro giving orders to one of the team members. Apparently, he was in charge in both realities. That made sense to Lance because Keith always looked up to Shiro as a leader or father figure. The fact that he was the team’s coach made perfect sense. Lance wasn’t here to indulge Keith’s little brain fart though, he was here to get him out of it.

“Keith!” Lance yelled as he walked over towards the team. Keith looked up and glanced in Lance’s direction, then went back to talking to his teammate. “Seriously Mullet?” Lance thought to himself as he approached the group.

“Hey, can we get out of here now?” Lance asked the clearly confused Keith.

“Um, do I know you?” Keith’s voice had a hint of aggravation as he met Lance’s stare.

“Of course you do! It’s me, Lance. Blue? Sharpshooter? Paladins? Flying castle and lions and stuff?”

Keith stared at the new arrival intently. It was weird, he did look familiar somehow, but was either on drugs or certifiably crazy. “Sorry, Lance was it? I don’t know you and I don’t know about any lions or castles. I think you should probably leave.”

“Keith? Buddy? You really don’t remember me?” Lance’s plan to get Keith out fast was falling apart quickly. Worse that that, he was hurt. How could Keith not remember him?

Lance turned to Shiro. “You know who I am right?”

“Of course I do,” Shiro commented while shaking his head. “You’re the class clown who I have to send to detention every other week.”

“See Keith, Shiro remembers… wait, what? I’m the class clown? Really? Sure I’m funny, but not detention level funny.” The team all walked away to get ready for practice leaving Lance to ponder the situation.

He wandered over to the bleachers on the side of the pool and flopped down. This was definitely not going according to plan. He saw the team pull on their swim caps and five of them got on the starting blocks. Lance watched Keith as he leaned forward like a coiled spring. When the beeper sounded, Keith flew off the block and into the water. Lance was impressed. He and Keith had spent some time racing each other in the stupid upside down Altean pool, but this was a big step up. Keith easily beat his teammates and pulled himself out of the pool.

Lance was used to swimming against Keith wearing their board shorts. Here Keith was wearing competitive swimwear. It was one of those form fitting jammer length suits that ended just above the knee. Lance smiled when he realized that it had a red stripe down the side. Whether that was a subconscious choice or something else, Keith had picked out a red swimsuit. Hopefully, a part of him remembered his role as the Red Lion’s Paladin. There was still a chance to get out of this, it just wasn’t going to be as easy as Lance hoped. Lance heard a noise behind him and turned to see Shiro sitting down next to him.

“So what really brings you here this morning McClain. You wouldn’t get up this early just to come annoy Keith.” Shiro fixed Lance with one of those all- knowing parental looks

If only Shiro were the real Shiro. He’d know what to do. “I don’t know why I’m here Shiro. That’s the story of my life isn’t it? I’m never really good at anything. Even when it’s something important, I can’t pull it off.”

“Lance, you can’t always snap your fingers and have things just work out the way you want. You have to have patience and persevere. If something doesn’t work out the first time, you have to keep at it until you get it right. Why do you think the team practices every day? We can’t just go into a competition and win without putting in the work to get there. Clowning around isn’t going to help you out of every situation. At some point, you have to commit and follow through. If there’s something you need from Keith, you’re going to have to work at earning his trust.”

Lance considered Shiro’s advice. “Ok, so how would you suggest I do that? He doesn’t even recognize me and like you said, I’m just the class clown. How is Mr. Super Serious going to pay any attention to me?”

“I seem to recall that you spend a lot of time in the ocean. Surfing and swimming, right? Maybe it’s time you trade the solo clown act for a serious team act. Why don’t you stick around after practice and we’ll talk more?” Shiro got up to rejoin the team leaving Lance alone with his thoughts.

As Keith left the pool, he noticed Shiro was talking to that Lance guy. Why was Shiro taking an interest in him? Keith must have seen him before in a class or something. He recognized the guy, but had no idea from where. And what was all that babble about lions and castles? Maybe he really was crazy.

Keith slipped his backpack on and unlocked his bike. The ride home was quick and eventless. The neighborhoods always seemed so quiet in New Meridian for some reason. When he got home, the house was empty. Another several day long sprint at the firehouse for his Dad which meant microwave dinners and video games for Keith. He went to the bookcase and pulled out last year’s Garrison High annual. Flipping through the junior class, Keith found what he was looking for. Lance McClain. In his picture, Lance was doing some weird wink or smirk. He was definitely the class clown. But why couldn’t Keith remember him? He got up, put the annual away, and went to warm up his dinner.


	4. Thawing Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance joins the swim team and tries to get on Keith's good side.

Chapter 4: Thawing Ice

Keith woke up to an empty house again. He wasn’t sure when the last time he actually saw his father was. Today was Tuesday and he had last seen him… That’s odd. He actually couldn’t remember for sure. His dad must have been working more shifts than he thought. He shrugged off the weird sensation in the back of his mind and grabbed the backpack with his swim gear. “Maybe he’ll be home for dinner tonight,” he thought on his way out the door.

Keith hopped on his bike and rode to the school’s pool. He chained his bike up to the bike rack and started for the gate. Something was a little different than usual. There was a strange car parked out front. A Camaro with an obnoxious blue stripe painted right down the center of the car from the trunk to the hood. “Wait, this car was here when I left yesterday. The only different person… No. You’ve got to be kidding me,” Keith thought to himself as he jogged into the pool area.

Shiro was standing at the edge of the pool talking down to someone wearing swimming goggles with a wet mess of brown hair. “Not bad. Not bad at all,” the coach told the half submerged swimmer. “If we work on that backstroke stroke a bit, I think you’ll easily qualify for the first meet in a few weeks. Didn’t I say with all the surfing and swimming you’d be a natural at this?”

“Upside down swimming pool races didn’t hurt either, right Keith?!” Lance yelled at Keith when he approached them. Based on what Coran had said about reminding Keith of the real world, Lance was determined to drop every hint he could to help Keith regain his memories.

“What the hell are you talking about? Upside down pool?” Keith shook his head in frustration and turned to Shiro. “He’s on the team now? What did you call him before, the class clown? How is this a good thing for the team?”

“Keith, try and be nice,” Shiro admonished the upset swimmer. He grabbed Keith’s shoulder and took him off to the side. “Did you ever think that maybe being part of a team is what he needs? I seem to remember a stubborn loner who wasn’t doing much with his life before getting on the swim team. What was his name? I think it started with a K...”

“Fine. Point taken. He’s just… weird. I don’t think he takes anything seriously. He seems more interested in getting attention than getting anything done.” Keith vented to Shiro.

“You’ve determined this knowing him for less than a day?” Shiro scowled at Keith. 

“Oh come on! He’s been like this since the first time…” Keith was confused. He just met Lance yesterday. Maybe he was being a little harsh. He took a deep breath. “Never mind, you’re right. I’ll give him a chance.”

Shiro smiled. “That’s all I can ask. Besides, he is good. His first practice times are on par with some of the best members of the team. His long arms and legs give him an advantage.” He left Keith and walked back over towards the pool.

Lance pulled his goggles off, ran his hand through his wet hair, and hoisted himself out of the pool. He’d gone out the night before and bought a new swimsuit for practice. He’d tried on over a dozen before finding one that looked good on him. This might be Keith’s dream, but that didn’t mean Lance couldn’t still look amazing in it.

Keith was staring. He knew it. He couldn’t stop doing it. Lance had pulled himself out of the water and was talking to Shiro. He was standing there in a skintight knee-length swimsuit with blue accents on the side panels, the pool water still dripping down his skin, and his damp hair tussled in the perfect mess. Lance was attractive. Something about that tall lanky body and the goofy smile just made him cute in Keith’s eyes. But this… Seeing Lance like this really sent Keith’s blood pumping. “Come on Keith, pull it together. You just met him and he’s the most obnoxious dork on the planet,” he thought to himself. Luckily, Lance decided to reinforce Keith’s observation by doing a cannonball into the pool splashing everyone nearby eliciting groans and yells from the team.

“What!? It’s not like you won’t be getting wet in a few minutes anyway!” Lance shouted from the water. He laughed and swam for the far end of the pool.

Shiro lead the team through another exhausting practice. By the time it was over, all anyone wanted to do was crash. Keith had changed out of his suit, walked out to his bike, and taken off before anyone had a chance to talk with him. Lance rinsed out his suit, got dressed, and walked over to Shiro.

“Well coach, how’d I do?” he asked with a smile.

“Your times aren’t bad Lance, but you have to stay focused. I realize it’s your nature to make everything fun and entertaining, but you need to concentrate more on what you’re doing and less on getting laughs. If you can do that, you’ll be one of the best on the team.” Shiro’s tone of voice went from stern to curious. “Did you get a chance to talk with Keith today?”

“No. He avoided me all day. In fact, he went out of his way to avoid me. Every time I tried to talk to him, he walked away, started another conversation, or dove in the water.” Lance’s shoulders slumped. “I wonder if subconsciously he hates me. Maybe he blames me for screwing up and nearly getting him killed.”

Shrio cocked his head to the side. “Getting him killed? What happened between you two in the past?”

“Nothing. Sorry, I’m just babbling. I’ll work on concentrating more. I know I can shave a few more seconds off those times.” Lance excused himself and went out to the car. The ride home was quick. He noticed there really wasn’t any traffic or people out on the streets. Maybe Keith didn’t think of that. It was kind of eerie.

Walking in the house, Lance smelled his mother’s cooking. It made his stomach growl and his mouth water. The rest of the family was all there crammed up to the dining table. It felt good to see them, even if they weren’t real. He sat down and dished himself up a plate of his mother’s enchiladas. It tasted just how he remembered. Of course, that’s how it had to taste here. After dinner he played video games with his brothers and bounced little Veronica on his knee. Oddly, Lance realized he was homesick for his other home and family. He was missing the castle, the other paladins, even Coran. He missed Blue too. She wasn’t purring in the back of his mind like she usually did. It must be hard to make a connection when you’re basically unconscious. Lance got up and wandered into the kitchen where his mom was washing dishes. He picked up Snowball, the family’s white Persian cat, and sat down at the counter across from his mom.

“Mom, what do you do when someone won’t talk to you?” he pined.

“Lance, are you having girl troubles again? I swear, every time you chase after one you end up with your heart broken or they punch you in the nose. Remember that strange girl, Plaxum, from middle school? You cried for two days after she broke up with you and she always smelled like fish.”

“It’s not a girl,” Lance explained. “It’s a friend who might be mad at me. He won’t even let me try to apologize.”

“Well, the best thing you can do is be nice and not pester him too much. Eventually, he’ll be willing to listen to you.”

“Maybe,” Lance sighed. He looked down at Snowball in his lap. “Such a pretty kitty,” he cooed to the cat. She wasn’t a Lion, but she was lovable. Lance smiled as an idea came to him. He got up taking Snowball along with him out to the laundry room.

Lance’s mother finished washing and drying the dishes. It seemed to take forever with a family this size. As she was putting the last of the dishes away, Snowball came up and nuzzled against her leg. She looked down. 

“Lance? Did you dye Snowball blue?” she hollered down the hall.

Lance’s grinning face popped out of his bedroom just long enough to yell a response. “Yep!”

“What is wrong with that boy?” she wondered to herself.

\------

Lance followed the advice from his mother and Shiro the next few days at practice. He stayed focused on his swimming and kept the clowning to a minimum. He also gave Keith some space. He noticed Keith staring at him a few times, so maybe the ice was thinning. On Saturday, the last full day practice before school started on Monday, Lance decided to see if Keith was at least a little more friendly.

Keith was just pulling himself out of the water after beating his previous time in a freestyle swim. Lance wandered over and looked up at the time clock.

“I don’t know how you do it Keith. Almost every single attempt you manage to shave off some time. It’s impressive.”

Keith was still catching his breath when Lance came over and complimented him. He’d been noticing how Lance had cut back on the clowning this week. Lance had really focused on his swimming and it showed. Both of them had managed to shave significant time off their swimming compared to earlier in the week. 

“You too, Lance. You really put in some effort this week and it shows in your times. I didn’t think you were going to take this seriously, but it seems like you are.” Keith actually felt himself smiling.

“I may joke around, but in the end you can always count on me,” Lance said in all honesty. “I won’t let the team down.” He turned and walked away from Keith.

Keith was dumbfounded. This was a totally different Lance. He was committed, focused, and no where near as obnoxious. Had he misjudged him that badly?

After practice, Shiro had to head out for a date with his girlfriend so Lance volunteered to lock up the pool. Shiro looked at him skeptically, but Lance had demonstrated he could be responsible this week.

“OK, but no clowning around. Just lock up and get out of here.” Shiro waved Keith over. “Keith, will you help Lance get the equipment put away and lock up?”

“Sure Coach, no problem.”

Keith and Lance got everything put away and walked to the gate together. As they came out to the parking lot, Keith noticed his bike’s front tire was flat. 

“Damnit!” He yelled and kicked the wall next to the bike. “I guess I get to walk home.”

“I’ll give you a ride,” Lance volunteered. “I don’t think the bike will fit in my trunk though. I can drop you at home or we can go get a new tube for the tire.”

“Really? After I’ve been a jerk to you all week?” Keith asked gingerly.

Lance grinned. “You’re always stubborn and fussy, how is this any different?” He unlocked the car, tossed his bag in the backseat, and reached over to unlock the passenger door. “So where too?”

“I have a spare tube at home. That will be the fastest. It isn’t too far from here.”

Lance started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. It wasn’t that far of a drive to Keith’s house. As Lance pulled in the driveway, he was reminded of the little cabin house where’d they’d first come together as a group looking at the map to his Lion. The yard was mostly dead and the house was a depressing dark color. He put the car in park and shut off the engine.

“So, if you want to grab the tube, I can drive you back to the pool,” Lance offered.

Keith was tired after a full day of practice and actually thankful for Lance’s suggestion. “Really? That would be great. Come on in while I find it. Pretty sure it’s in my room somewhere.”

They got out of the car and walked up to the house. Keith unlocked the door and went in with Lance following. Keith flipped on the lights and Lance looked around. Spartan. That was the word Lance would use to describe this place to someone. No artwork on the walls, only a little dining table with two chairs, a small kitchenette with a microwave on the counter, and a couch in the middle of the living room facing a small flat screen TV. At least there was a WonderCast 3 video game system next to the TV. Keith made his way down a hallway presumably to his room.

“You play video games?” Lance yelled after Keith. “My brothers and I play this system all the time.”

“Yeah, I get bored here alone sometimes.” He hollered back. “My dad is a firefighter so he isn’t home a lot.”

Lance wondered if some of the characteristics of Keith’s totally non-traditional family might have made it into this reality. It figured that his mom wasn’t in the house. That was a topic Lance didn’t want to broach in this reality or the other one. He made his way down the hall towards Keith’s room. He stopped at a door on the opposite side of the hallway and turned the knob. As the door opened, Lance noticed there was nothing in the room. Literally nothing. It was like a giant void in space. There were no walls, no floor, and no light. The glow from the hallway light just got swallowed up by the room. Lance closed the door quickly.

“Hey Keith, who’s room is this across from yours?” he cautiously asked.

“Found it!” Keith yelled from his room and came out into the hallway. “Oh, that’s my dad’s room,” he said casually as he went back out into the living room. “I’ll go grab the pump from the garage and meet you at the car.”

“OK,” Lance said as he wandered back into the living room, thinking. Keith had no idea his father was missing from his self created world. The last time Keith had talked about his dad, it was right after the mission to the Blade of Marmora headquarters. Keith had said something about seeing his father during the trials there. He was supposed to give him answers about Keith’s mother. Shiro had mentioned that the suit Keith wore allowed him to create what he wanted to see in his mind. Lance stopped in his tracks. The suit. That was the same suit Keith had worn on the mission where he was injured. There wasn’t time to get Keith out of the suit before putting him in the stasis pod. What if the suit was the reason Keith was stuck inside his head? Some conflict between the stasis pod and the suit’s mind altering capabilities? Lance really wished he could tell Pidge. His epiphany was interrupted by Keith’s yell from the front yard.

“Lance? You coming?”

Lance went out the front door and walked to the car. “Sorry, I got distracted. Got the pump and tube?” he asked as the car started.

“Yeah. Thanks for doing this.” Keith looked down at the floor of the car. “I’m sorry for being a jerk this week.”

Lance smiled. “I can come across a little strong initially. I promise not to make fun of your hair on a regular basis. Just sometimes.” He saw Keith actually crack a smile at that one.

They arrived at the school’s pool and got out. Lance held a flashlight while Keith popped the front tire off and swapped out the tube. A short time later, the tire was good to go and Keith was hopping on the bike.

“Thanks again, Lance. I guess I’ll see you at school on Monday,” Keith said.

Lance started the car and rolled down the window. “Hey, if your dad is still working tomorrow, why don’t you come over to my house for dinner? My mom always makes extra food and she’s actually a really good cook. She loves to get praise from dinner guests. Consider that payback for me running your ass around town tonight.”

Keith looked a bit stressed. He didn’t like hanging out with people in general, but he owed Lance. “Ok, I can do that if my dad is still working.”

Lance thought back to the empty room in Keith’s house. He was pretty sure Keith’s dad wouldn’t be home tomorrow or any other time soon. “What’s your phone number? I’ll text you directions.” Lance put Keith’s number in his phone under ‘Mullet’ and smiled. “OK, tomorrow at 5!” Lance yelled as he drove off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of the inspirations for Lance's look in this portion of the story. http://rolierose.tumblr.com/post/148041670090/rooous-i-think-i-need-some-lance-pleeaseeee


	5. Almost Normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith shows up at Lance's house for dinner and meets the McClain clan.

Chapter 5: Almost Normal

Keith was actually nervous about going to eat at Lance’s house. He hated being around crowds and Lance had hinted it was a big family. Keith never broke a promise though. Digging through his pile of unfolded laundry, he pulled out his best pair of jeans and a clean red t-shirt. He jumped through the shower and got dressed. Once ready, he pulled up his phone and looked at the map that Lance had texted him. Lance’s house wasn’t terribly far from his, but he usually didn’t go in that direction for anything. Keith pretty much stuck to the school, pool, beach, and the grocery store. The houses on the way to Lance’s place were all quiet. No one was out in their yards and there wasn’t any movement in the windows. When Keith got to the address Lance had given him, things were different. The house lights were on. The curtains were open and he could see people moving around inside. Keith suppressed his urge to turn around at the sight of the large number of shadows moving in the windows. He leaned his bike up against the side of Lance’s Camaro and walked to the front door. Just as he was about to push the doorbell, the door swung inward.

“Who are you?” A small girl with the stare of a veteran interrogator quizzed Keith.

Keith looked down surprised that he was mildly intimidated by a small child. “Um, I’m Keith? Lance asked me to come over for dinner?” Keith responded as his anxiety level rose sharply.

The little girl glared at him a few seconds longer before yelling over her shoulder. “Lance! Your boyfriend is here!”

Keith knew his face flushed bright red at the little girl’s comment. He was about to correct her when Lance came running to the door.

“He isn’t my boyfriend Veronica,” Lance said with a smile as he lifted the little girl out of the doorway and set her off to the side. “Sorry about that Keith. She’s slightly obnoxious and has a terrible sense of humor.”

Keith felt a smirk tugging at the side of his mouth. “So, she must be related to you then?”

“Yeah, my little sister Veronica. Youngest of the McClain clan. She’s always… hey wait a minute! Are you implying I’m obnoxious with a terrible sense of humor?” Lance squinted his eyes and glared at Keith.

“No. Not at all,” Keith managed to say with a nearly straight face.

Lance continued to glare at his guest. “Get in here smartass. The food is about ready.” He motioned for Keith to walk through the door. 

The level of chaos in the house was a bit much for Keith. There were several children running around throwing things at each other and a short woman running between the kitchen and dining room carrying several dishes of food on each run. Just when he thought it would overwhelm him, the little woman clapped her hands together and addressed the household.

“Dinner is served! Get your butts in a chair or you’re going to starve!” Lance’s mother proclaimed to the entire house.

Keith had never seen full blown chaos turn to complete order so quickly. No sooner had she made the announcement than every child was seated at the table in complete silence. The woman must have a second career as a lion tamer.

Lance grabbed Keith’s arm and dragged him over to the table. “Dad’s away for business so you can have his seat.” He pointed towards the head of the table and took his own seat to the left of Keith’s chair. “Everybody listen up! We have a guest tonight and you better be on your best behavior. His name is Keith and he’s a friend of mine from school. And no Veronica, he is not my boyfriend.” Lance jabbed his fork in the air toward the tiny gremlin to accentuate his point. “Keith, this is my family. The chef is my mother. You’ll just have to call her Mom because she won’t respond to anything else. The three less attractive brothers are Marco, Luis, and Steven. You’ve already had the pleasure of meeting the devious Veronica.”

All the children nodded to Keith and Lance’s mother spoke up. “Welcome Keith. I’m glad you could join us for dinner. Now, everyone, start passing the plates around so we can eat!”

Keith kept piling food on as different dishes were passed around the table. Burritos, enchiladas, rice, and some things that Keith had never seen before made their way around the table. He savored every bite and ended up gorging himself on the delicious food. Microwave dinners and delivery pizza didn’t even compare to the flavors that graced his palette during this meal. After everyone was done eating, Keith helped Lance and his mother pick up all the dishes and bring them into the kitchen.

Keith piled up the dishes he was carrying next to the sink. “That meal was amazing Mrs. McClain. Thank you for cooking and having me over. It’s been a long while since I’ve eaten like that. It’s been mostly TV dinners lately.”

“Thank you, Keith. I enjoy cooking so it’s no big deal. Lance doesn’t usually help with the cleanup. You seem to be a good influence on him.” She was speaking to Keith, but her gaze was fixed on Lance.

“Mom! Dad is usually the one that helps you. He usually spends more time kissing you than picking up dishes though,” Lance said with a grin.

Lance’s mother smiled back at her son. “Ok, that is true. Your father is quite the flirt. You boys go in with the others. I’ll finish the dishes.” She shooed the two boys out of the kitchen.

When they entered the living room, Marco and Luis were playing Call of Fighters 4 on the WonderCast 3 system. Steven and Veronica were staging some kind of military operation in the corner of the room with action figures. Lance plopped down on the couch behind where Marco and Luis were playing. Keith sat down on the opposite end of the couch and watched the two boys playing on the holoscreen TV. 

“Wow, that looks way more realistic than on my old flat TV,” Keith said as Marco knocked Luis’ character right out of the screen towards the couch. He felt something rubbing against his leg and looked down to see a blue cat nuzzling him. “Um, Lance? Why is your cat blue?”

Lance reached over and picked up Snowball holding her right in front of Keith. “This is Snowball. She’s kind of a  _ little blue lion _ . Remind you of anything?” Lance tossed out with a glimmer of hope.

“No. It’s a blue cat. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you colored her blue. You do seem to be a little obsessed with the color blue. The stripe down your car, your shirts, your swimsuit, and now the cat are all blue.”

Lance nodded and set the cat down. “So is my underwear, but you haven’t seen that. I like blue.” Lance’s voice became more quiet. “Actually, Blue likes me.” A strange look passed over Lance’s face that Keith couldn’t quite place. It was gone as quickly as it appeared. “Besides, you’re one to talk Mr. Red. Both your bike and swimsuit are red. You’re wearing a red t-shirt. I bet your underwear is red too.” Lance winked obnoxiously across the couch at Keith.

“The color of my underwear is none of your business!” Keith said louder than he intended drawing snickers from the two brothers playing the game. The worst part was that Lance was right. Keith was wearing red boxer briefs. He tugged his shirt down a little further to make sure they weren’t creeping up over his jeans. 

“Yes! You lose loser!” Marco yelled at Luis. “I am the undisputed champion of Call of Fighters!”

Keith quickly took advantage of the distraction provided in order to end the underwear conversation. “I can beat you,” he said to Marco.

“Lance, tell your friend that he really doesn’t want to be embarrassed tonight,” Marco said with a mildly arrogant tone.

Lance giggled and turned towards Marco. “Be careful brother. I’ve seen Keith fight against simulations and he has this game at home. You may be biting off more than you can chew this time.”

Keith had no idea what lunacy was going through Lance’s head this time, but he slipped off the couch and took the other controller from Luis. “Ok, Marco. Let’s see what you’ve got…”

It was obvious from the first round that Keith would win this contest. The game was a hybrid shooter/fighter. Your opponent could choose to fight from a distance with weapons, but if he got in close enough the game became more hand to hand combat. He beat Marco in the first round and didn’t take a single hit from the brother after that. After losing five matches without landing a single shot or punch, Marco threw in the towel.

“I’m out. You’re untouchable. How long have you been playing the game?” Marco asked with genuine awe in his voice.

“I have a lot of spare time at home,” Keith answered. “The computer doesn’t really offer a challenge anymore.” He looked up and noticed the time on the grandfather clock standing against the wall. “I should get going. I don’t want to be tired for the first day of school tomorrow. Thanks for the game Marco.” Keith got up and made his way to the door as Lance followed.

“Now see, that wasn’t so bad was it?” Lance asked Keith when they got to the door.

“No, it was great. Your mother is a great cook and your brothers aren’t half bad. They’re almost more tolerable than you,” Keith said with a smirk. “Thanks for inviting me over.”

“Ha ha Mullet. I’m glad you came over though. I guess I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” Lance waved at Keith as he closed the door. He walked back into the living room and sat down in front of the game system. “ Marco, how about I hand you another defeat?”

Marco mock laughed loudly and handed Lance the other controller. “Seriously? I’ve beaten you so many times that you stopped playing the game. You even threw the controller the last time out of frustration. You pouted for a week.”

Lance took the controller and started a match. “We’ll see about that,” Lance mumbled. Marco lost several matches one after the other. Lance sniped Marco from distant positions several times and then managed to get in close enough for some hand to hand combat that didn’t end well for Marco the other times.

It wasn’t Lance that threw the controller this time. “What the hell? How did you get so good?” Marco yelled at his brother and moved to retrieve the controller.

An ear to ear grin spread over Lance’s face. “I’ve had a little off-world practice. You may now refer to me as Sharpshooter.”

Marco started another match. “I will not call you Sharpshooter. Let’s try this one more time. There’s no way you can really be this fucking good.”

“Watch your language young man!” Came a loud voice from the kitchen doorway. Their mother made her way behind the boys and smacked Marco on the back of the head. “I hear that again and you’ll be done playing for a month.”

“Sorry Mom,” Marco apologized quietly.

“Your boyfriend is very nice Lance. Easy on the eyes too,” she said over her shoulder as she went back to the kitchen. “I told you he’d start talking to you again.”

“He’s not my boyfriend!” Lance yelled back towards the kitchen. He punched Marco in the arm to silence the giggling and went back to the game.

His mother smiled to herself as she put away the last of the dishes. “Whatever you say honey,” she quietly murmured.


	6. Friendly Faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance encounters a few familiar faces from the real world.

Chapter 6: Friendly Faces

Lance pulled his Camaro into Garrison High’s parking lot bright and early Monday morning. Keith’s little imaginary town may have been nearly deserted, but the high school was definitely well attended. Throngs of students were parking cars or hover bikes and gradually flowing into the building. Lance got out of his car and followed them inside. The building was old, probably built in the early 2000s. The architecture used a lot of brick and glass with high ceilings. Hanging from the high ceiling in the main entry were several banners for the school’s football and swim teams proudly displaying “Division B State Champions” for the last several years. That continued success is what propelled the school into Division A this year. Lance made his way over to the display screens that were showing what room each student needed to go to for orientation. He was disappointed to see that Keith didn’t share his home room assignment. Bringing out his phone, he tapped it to the glass and directions to orientation were downloaded. The phone immediately chirped and displayed a map and directions to his home room for orientation. Lance followed the phone’s guidance and entered his home room. He wandered towards a group of girls that were already proudly wearing the Lions cheerleading uniforms. He gave them his trademark smile and a wink as he sat in a desk near them.

“Alrighty then students, take your seats please!” the teacher shouted over the noisy chatter of the students. “Each of you will come up one at a time and get your personal education tablet, or PET as I like to call them. These nifty toys will download all your course materials and keep track of your homework.”

Lance turned his attention away from the cheerleaders behind him and towards the front of the room. He was torn between laughing and running up to hug the teacher. The mustache looked just as ridiculous here as it did in the Castle.

“I am Mr. Smythe, but you may call me Coran,” the orange haired teacher informed the class. “You will get to see my smiling face every morning for 15 minutes and in return I will check a little box on my tablet that says you managed to drag yourselves out of bed for a full day of fun filled learning activities. Don’t be late!”

Coran continued to explain how to use the PETs, how much homework students should expect, where to find things in the building, and some other things that Lance didn’t bother listening to. After the orientation, Lance started to get up, but Coran walked directly to his desk.

“There will be no clowning around this year Mr. McClain. Coach Shiro told me you’ve joined the swim team and you’ll be held to much higher expectations this year.” Coran tapped his finger on the desk in front of Lance. “I do not want any stories about you swimming in shopping mall fountains this year and I fully expect you to be on time in here every day. Do I make myself clear?”

Despite his forced smile, Lance was hurt. Did Keith really only think of him as just a clown and that’s why all the people in his little fantasy world shared that belief? He nodded to Coran, picked up his PET, and got up from the desk. After he was outside the classroom, he looked down at the PET to check his class schedule. The classes were similar to what they’d all taken at the real Garrison, minus the flight and combat training of course. Lance wasn’t looking forward to repeating the courses, but at least he could slack off a little since he knew the material.

After sitting through several boring lectures and getting more homework assigned than he thought was necessary for the first day, it was time for lunch. When Lance arrived in the cafeteria, there was already a long, slow moving line in front of the serving area. He grabbed a tray and got in the line. The food selection was terrible. It was pretty much a giant TV dinner tray with the main course being dry turkey slices that may or may not have been glued together with inorganic material. The scoop of potatoes that got plopped into a smaller slot next to the turkey looked uninviting. Finally, Lance slid down to the dessert area to discover cups of green gelatin. After eating his mother’s cooking again, this stuff was going to kill him. By the time he got through the line, the lunch period was half over. Lance took his tray and started heading into the sea of tables. He scanned the crowd looking for a familiar face. Against the far wall was the unmistakable mullet that belonged to Keith. It wasn’t the back of Keith’s head that made Lance walk faster towards that particular table though, it was the other two heads he saw.

“Hunk! Pidge!” Lance nearly screamed in joy as he set his tray down next to Keith. “You two are a sight for sore eyes. I was hoping you’d pop up sooner or later.”

Pidge adjusted her giant glasses and glared across the table at Lance. “I have not forgiven you,” were the only words out of her mouth.

Lance curled his bottom lip up and furrowed his brow trying to think of what he could possibly have done to piss Pidge off. “Um, what did I do?” he ended up asking meekly.

“You know full well. Last year you were so busy fooling around and cracking jokes after psych class that you forgot to latch the mouse cage door in the psych department lab when you left. All four mice got away and it took me two weeks to track them all down,” she stated in an accusatory tone.

Lance opened his mouth to defend himself and then realized that actually sounded like something he would have done. Maybe a little less clowning and a little more responsible behavior would be a good thing. “Oh, that. I’m sorry. It will never happen again.” He cocked his head to the side as an odd thought entered his brain. Pidge was here during the senior class lunch period. She must have skipped three grades to be this advanced. Apparently she was a genius in Keith’s world too.

“It’s ok Lance,” Hunk said as he grinned across the table. “She’ll forgive you one of these days. How’s the Camaro running?”

“Good, but the engine is making a lot of noise lately. Why do you ask?” Lance inquired.

“I didn’t spend half of last summer overhauling your engine just to let it fall apart again. I’ll come over and look at it this weekend and see if we can tune it up a bit.”

“That would be great!” Lance said as he smiled across the table. Hunk was mechanically inclined in Keith’s world. At least some things were constant between reality and the contents of Keith’s head. Lance looked down and realized he’d been absent mindedly mixing his gelatin with the mashed potatoes on his plate. He picked up a fork full of the green mixture which looked remarkably similar to the food in the Castle. “Look guys! Green food goo!” The other three just shook their heads and got up from the table. It was almost time for the next period to start.

Keith looked down at his PET and saw that physics was his next class. He hated physics. So many equations and theories to remember. He was grumbling to himself when the ever cheerful voice of Lance popped over his shoulder.

“Are you headed to physics now? We have a class together!” Lance bubbled as they entered the classroom. He followed Keith and took a seat right next to him. “Mind if I sit next to you?”

Keith sighed. “Fine, just don’t do anything stupid, OK? I need to pay attention in here to keep my grades up so I can stay on the swim team.”

“Best behavior, I promise,” Lance said with a smile.

Keith looked down at his desk pretending to read something on his PET. Lance’s smile was so… adorable. Lance was still weird, but his enthusiasm for life was contagious.

They both looked to the front of the room as an elderly woman walked up to the holoboard and brought up an image of what looked like concentric circles intersecting a bunch of random lines with smaller random circles mixed in for good measure.

“Can anyone tell me what this is?” the woman asked. Dead silence was the response from the assembled students.

Lance tilted his head to the side and stared at the image. It was familiar for some reason. He’d seen something like it on one of the Castle’s displays. Then he remembered it was at one of Slav’s stations. Lance had made the mistake of asking him what it was. After a ten minute rant about intersecting realities and puddles, Slav had finally told him.

“It’s a visual representation of quantum entanglement,” Lance said to the class.

The woman looked towards Lance in surprise. “That is correct. I didn’t expect anyone to recognize it. She looked down at her class list and identified Lance’s picture and her face melted into a smile. “Good work, Lance.” She shifted her view to take in the whole class. “I am Professor Ryner. By the time this year is over, you will all gain a greater understanding of the universe and how its infinite pieces interact.”

After the lecture was over, Keith and Lance got up and walked into the hall. Lance looked at his class schedule. All it said was ‘Physical Education - Swimming’ on the PET.

Lance turned to Keith and showed him the schedule. “So I have PE swimming and then we go to swim team practice after school? My skin can’t take that much water. It will get all pruney and wrinkled.”

Keith suppressed a laugh. “Seriously, how do you know what quantum entanglement is, but not know how this works? The last period of each day is dedicated to what hobby, club, interest, or team you join. For us, we have swimming the last period. That counts as team practice so when school is out, we’re done for the day. Pidge splits her time between the psych and computer labs. I don’t really want to know what she’s actually working on. Hunk goes to the mechanic bay to work on whatever his project of the week is. It’s meant to broaden our horizons and help focus on something we really enjoy.”

“Oh good. One hour a day of swimming is plenty. I can only moisturize so much,” Lance said in complete seriousness. “Are you heading over to the pool now?”

“Yeah, already got my swimsuit in my backpack,” Keith gestured over his shoulder.

“Same here. Lead the way team captain,” Lance royally gestured for Keith to take the lead.

Keith rolled his eyes and started walking towards the pool’s locker room. When they got there, Shiro was already telling everyone to get changed and meet out by the pool. Keith started heading to his usual secluded corner of the locker room to change. When he got to his favorite locker, he realized Lance was still following him. Keith turned to Lance.

“Go find a locker. There’s some open ones in the next row over.” 

“What’s wrong with one here?” Lance asked with a puzzled look on his face.

“Because my locker is here,” Keith said as though that was explanation enough. “Just go over to the other row Lance.” Keith really didn’t want to have to deal with Lance stripping down in front of him. He was already conflicted enough when Lance was around him.

Not fully understanding the issue, Lance nodded and went over to the next row. He quickly undressed, pulled on his swimsuit with the blue accents, and went out to the pool. Keith was already in the water warming up and the rest of the team was gathering around Shiro for direction. Lance joined the group and listened in.

“Ok everybody, listen up! I’ll be working with each of you over the course of the next few weeks to help with your form, timing, and speed. We’re going to have an exhibition meet Saturday with North Meridian High to see how we compare. I want you all to treat this as if it were a real event. It won’t be too long before we start facing our new Division A opponents like Galra High and this will serve as a good indicator of how well we’re doing.” Shiro gave some direction to a few of the team and stepped over to Lance. “I want you to pair up with Keith. He’ll be able to point out some of the things you need to work on. You improved a lot last week, but there’s a long way to go. I have a feeling you and Keith are going to be the best performers on the team so make sure and try your hardest.”

Lance nodded to Shiro and went over to where Keith was resting his arms on the side of the pool. Keith looked odd with his swim cap and goggles on. There was no sign of the signature mullet. When they’d swim in the Castle’s pool, Keith’s wet hair would stick to the back of his neck like wet paint. After he got out, Keith would shake his head like a wet dog and the mullet would magically reappear. The two had started swimming together in the Castle pool together by accident. After a few times of swimming at opposite ends, Keith suggested they try a variation of water polo. The gravitational dynamics of the upside down pool made that a fantastic workout. Lance had actually really started enjoying their pool time together and actually missed the upside down pool now.

“Shiro wants you to help me out. He thinks you’ll see some of my mistakes and help me correct them,” Lance bent down to tell Keith.

Keith pulled himself up out of the water and took off the goggles. “Ok, first thing I noticed last week was your starting position. You have your knees bent a little weird and it makes your entry into the water less smooth.”

Lance practiced with Keith for the whole period. Keith pointed out little things and Lance worked on correcting the issues. By the time the bell sounded, Lance was breaking into the water like he was a born dolphin. 

“Nice job today everyone. Keep at it and we’ll be in top form for next week,” Shiro yelled out to the team after the bell sounded.

Keith went off to the locker room as Lance pulled himself out of the water. Lance watched as Keith hurried into the locker room without talking to anyone. He didn’t hear Shiro walk up behind him.

“Nice work today Lance. Looks like you and Keith make a good team. It also seems like you’re getting along much better than before.”

Lance continued to stare at the locker room door. “Thanks Shiro. Yeah, things are way better between us, but then he weirds out on me. Like telling me to go to another locker row and then running off before I even get out of the pool. Just when I think he’s warming up to me, he goes all cold.”

“He’s a loner at heart, Lance. It takes a lot for him to really open up to people. I’m surprised he’s let you in as far as he has already. Just give it some time. Keep up the dedication and hard work and you’ll win him over.”

Lance made his way to the locker room and rinsed the chlorine off his suit in the shower. He went back to his locker and changed out of his swimsuit. As he came out of the locker room, Keith was standing there with his back against the wall.

“Got any plans tonight? Hunk, Pidge, and I are going to go hang out at the beach for a while. Want to come with us?”

Lance smiled. “I used to love surfing, but I don’t have a board anymore, but I still love the ocean. When are you going?”

“Right now. Hunk is going to toss my bike in the back of his truck and we’re going to head there. He’s got a cooler in the truck with some food he wants us to try. You can follow us in your car.”

They made their way to the parking lot and found Pidge waiting alongside Hunk at the truck. Truck may not have been the right word for it. More like tank. Everything about it was oversized and overpowered. Lance expected nothing less from Hunk. Keith tossed his bike in the back and was about to climb in along with it. Pidge stopped him.

“I can ride with Lance if you want to ride up front in the truck for a change,” she suggested to Keith.

Keith smiled. “I’m not going to argue. A seat cushion beats bare metal any day. You sure you’re going to be ok alone with Lance?”

Lance groaned loudly and rolled his eyes. “She’ll be fine. I’m a good driver.”

“It’s not her I’m worried about,” Keith said to Lance with a smirk.

“I have no intention of harming him,” Pidge reassured Keith. “He’s far too interesting.”

Lance suddenly regretted the offer, but unlocked Pidge’s door anyway. “Hunk, I’ll follow you.”

Once in the car, he started the engine as Pidge fastened her seatbelt. As soon as he pulled out of the lot, she turned to him.

“Ok, what is going on?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” Lance answered defensively.

“Last year, you were the biggest goofball and didn’t care about anyone else. Suddenly this year you’ve joined the swim team, cut down the clowning, and you’re really trying to be nice to Keith. It’s like you’re a completely different person.”

Lance was a different person. It was the difference between Keith’s perception of Lance and the real Lance. Since this Pidge was a creation of Keith’s mind, she shared his view of Lance.

“I’m not like that. People just don’t always see it. Sure, I like to joke around. Maybe a little more than I should. I’d do anything for you guys. Besides, I’m dealing with some… stuff.”

Pidge perked up. Her analytic brain kicking into full curiousity mode. “What kind of stuff?”

Lance sighed. “I can’t explain it. I’d sound completely nuts if I told you the truth.”

Pidge was literally leaning over the center console staring at Lance. “Try me.”

Lance thought about it and figured what did he have to lose? He took a deep breath and started telling Pidge what was really going on. He explained the cross wiring of the healing pods and that they were all figments in Keith’s mind. As he finished his story, his shoulders relaxed. It was like a massive weight had been lifted being able to tell someone what was going on. He knew Pidge would think he was nuts now, but it felt good. He looked over and saw her staring straight forward out the window.

“You’re actually serious aren’t you?” she asked without looking at Lance.

“You’re the psych student here, do you think I’m crazy?” For the first time, Lance started doubting which reality was actually real. Maybe Keith wasn’t the one who had lost touch with the real world.

“Unbalanced and a little strange, yes. Crazy… no,” she said as a grin spread across her face. Lance looked over and saw it. It was the same smile she got when successfully hacking into a Galra system or reprogramming a defensive satellite to double its shield strength.

“That explains why the town is so empty! Keith is antisocial at the core. He’d prefer less people to be running around. Not to mention the sheer volume of mental cycles it would take to artificially populate a whole city like New Meridian would be insane!”

“You believe me?” Lance asked incredulously.

“I’m willing to entertain the possibility,” she said. “If it’s real, I think you’re wrong about how to get him to wake up.”

“Reminding him of things from the real world isn’t going to work?” The panic level in Lance’s voice rose. “I’m stuck in here if I don’t get him to wake up!”

“I need to think about this more. You need to find some kind of bond he has with reality and strengthen it. You said his Lion is extremely tied to him. Is there some way of increasing that bond? What color is my Lion?”

Lance felt himself relaxing. He now had one of the smartest people he knew helping him. Well, maybe not the actual Pidge, but Keith’s Pidge was still a genius. “Green. Your Lion is green.”

The conversation would have to wait. Hunk’s truck pulled up and parked along the edge of the beach and Keith hopped out.

“Don’t tell anyone else,” Pidge requested. “I’m likely some subconscious process in his head. Telling Keith directly could seriously fracture his psyche. Not to mention, I really don’t know how someone like Hunk would deal with the possibility that he isn’t real. This stays between us for now.”

Lance nodded and got out of the car. He walked over and helped Hunk and Keith pull the metal cooler out of the back of the truck and set it down on the beach. They all sat down around Hunk’s cooler and started pulling out different types of food. It looked like Hunk had been working on these for a while. The food was delicious. Hunk’s culinary skills definitely made the jump over. 

Keith was the first to compliment the chef. “Thanks for the food, Hunk. Delicious as usual. I need to get you to make some dishes I can freeze and warm up.”

“Not a problem. I’ll make some this weekend. When does your dad get home anyway?” Hunk asked.

“I don’t know. I think he’s working a double rotation at the fire station. I haven’t seen him in a while.”

Lance glanced over at Pidge briefly. He had explained his discovery of the nothingness in Keith’s dad’s room to her.

“Well, it’s getting dark and I need to be responsible and do homework,” Lance announced to change the topic. “Thanks for the food Hunk.”

“I live to cook. Well, cook and build things. I’m not sure what I like better. Food or engines. No, wait. Food, definitely food. Ok, so who needs a ride home?” Hunk asked the group.

“Keith lives pretty close to me, I can drop him home,” Lance volunteered.

“My bike is in the back of the truck.”

“I’ll give you a ride home and then pick you up for school tomorrow. You can get your bike from Hunk there. That way Hunk doesn’t have to drive all the way to your place,” Lance suggested.

“You promise to pick me up on time tomorrow?”

“I’ll set two alarms.” Lance giggled. “Besides, there is no way I’m going to be late to Coran’s home room. The last thing I want is some long winded lecture on timeliness involving wiggley diggles, shmoowatzits, or slipperies.”

“He is a weird one,” Keith admitted and laughed.

They all said their goodbyes and went towards the vehicles. Lance was briefly entertained watching the height challenged Pidge climb her way up Hunk’s giant vehicle. He opened his door and sat down.

Lance started the engine and began the drive towards Keith’s house. “Thanks for inviting me out, Keith.”

“I’m just glad you and Pidge seem to have made up. She can be a little intense sometimes.”

“She and Hunk are great. I’d trust either one of them with my life. You too for that matter,” Lance admitted.

“Wow, that’s a little intense. We’re not talking about life and death here.”

Lance forced a laugh. “Yeah, I know.”

The Camaro pulled up in front of Keith’s spartan home and he hopped out of the car.

“Thanks for the ride. I’ll see you at 7:30 tomorrow morning?” Keith asked.

“I’ll be here at 7:15 just in case there’s traffic.” Lance smiled knowing New Meridian definitely did not have a traffic congestion issue. “Night!”

Keith waved goodbye as the Camaro pulled away and went into his empty house.

\------

Zarkon threw open the door to his son’s bedroom. The college girl who was sitting atop Lotor let out an embarrassed yelp and rolled off him. She grabbed her clothes and ran into the bathroom slamming the door behind her. 

Lotor sighed and pulled the covers over himself. “You really need to learn to knock, Dad. I was right in the middle of something.”

“I can see that,” Zarkon snarled. “I’d prefer if you kept your conquests out of the house. The last thing we need is for some supposed scandal to happen at the mayor’s residence. I’ve spent a lot of effort to get this far and I’m going to win governor next year.”

“You’re so obsessed with power. You should learn to enjoy life more. Play with all the toys that are there for your amusement. Like Mindy there,” he gestured towards the bathroom door. “She didn’t take much effort to seduce even though she has a boyfriend.”

The bathroom door flew open and Mindy went walking briskly past Zarkon and out of the bedroom.

Lotor half heartedly waved goodbye as she fled the scene. “What I found to be even more amusing was how much less effort it took to seduce her boyfriend last week. I can’t wait to see how that relationship self-destructs. Now Father, what is so important that you have to barge into my room unannounced?”

“I’ve heard rumors that your swim team is facing some real competition this year. It will look much better when I run for governor if my son is still the reigning state champion.”

Lotor let out an annoyed sigh. “Yes, the Garrison team moved into our division. I hear they’re going to be pretty good. Their team captain, Keith, is an interesting one. Have no fear father, I’ll send Haxus over to watch their meet against North Meridian later this week. Based on what he reports, I’ll figure out how to deal with the Garrison Lions.”

“See that you do. This family doesn’t tolerate failure,” Zarkon said as he left the room.


	7. Normal Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Keith go about their daily lives. Keith forgets to set his alarm and Lance gets to be the responsible one for a change.

Chapter 7: Normal Life

Lance arrived at Keith’s house promptly at 7:15 as he promised. He half expected Keith to be standing out front waiting. He turned the car off and walked up to the door. Knocking lightly didn’t get any response. Puzzled, Lance tried the doorknob. The door opened and Lance poked his head in. “Keith? You ready?” he yelled into the living room. Again, no response. Lance was getting a little worried and proceeded into the house. No signs of a struggle in the living room, so that was good. He quietly walked into the hallway and down towards Keith’s room. He gently twisted the doorknob and opened the door.

Keith was laying face down on his bed wearing only a pair of red boxer briefs. His head turned off to the side and his hair fluffed out the back. The most disturbing part was the snoring. It sounded like someone was operating an old fashioned chain saw in the room. No wonder he didn’t hear the knocking. Lance quietly walked over to the bed and noticed Keith’s phone wasn’t sitting on the charging pad. His phone must have died and its alarm didn’t go off. 

Lance took a moment to look at Keith. Aside from the small string of drool coming out of the snoring mouth, Keith looked just about perfect. Lance was always a little jealous of how Keith managed to be perfectly toned everywhere. Even with some muscle mass on his arms, Lance’s lanky form never looked quite as well balanced as Keith. He was also jealous of how Keith could pull off the form fitting outfits. He always had an amazing backside when wearing the Marmora suit or the Paladin uniform. Even here, Keith’s swimsuit and the boxer briefs showed off everything well.

After admiring the view for a few seconds, Lance tried to wake him. “Keith?” Lance said quietly with no response. He reached down and tapped Keith on the shoulder. Apparently the touch sensation worked since Keith bolted upright into a sitting position.

“Lance?” a clearly confused Keith asked. “What’s going on?” He looked around the room. “Why are you in my bedroom?”

“I knocked on the door but you didn’t answer. I’m responsibly here to take you to school promptly at 7:15 like I promised. It looks like you didn’t set your phone on its charger last night and I’m guessing that mess of rubble in the corner used to be your alarm clock.” Lance pointed at the little pile of destroyed electronics on the floor.

“Shit. Yeah, sorry. Um, give me a few minutes. I’ll hop through the shower quick,” Keith said as he jumped out of bed and went into the bathroom. 

Lance exited the room and walked down the hall towards the living room. As he passed the bathroom, he couldn’t resist. “Oh, and I was right about your underwear being red!” he hollered towards the bathroom door as he smiled to himself.

“Shut it Lance!” was the response from the other side of the door.

A few minutes later, Keith emerged from the hallway fully dressed with his hair still wet and clinging to his neck. “I’m sorry. I stayed up too late trying to figure out the physics assignment from yesterday and must have forgotten to set my phone on the pad. What kind of a teacher gives that tough of an assignment the first day?”

Lance had completed his in less than ten minutes since he’d already gone through several physics classes in the real world after Keith had dropped out. “Professor Ryner is just trying to challenge us. That’s definitely going to be the toughest class this year. I’m actually pretty good at it, so if you need some help, just let me know.”

“Oh god, if it gets any harder I’ll take you up on that. After your quantum entanglement knowledge, you’re probably her favorite student.”

Lance grinned. “Oh come on. I’m everyone’s favorite student!”

Keith giggled as he climbed into the car. “Dream on Lance. I am amazed at how well you’re doing without all the clowning around though. The responsible Lance is kind of a nice change.”

“Yeah, well, remember the responsible Lance had to wake up someone who forgot to charge his phone. We all screw up sometimes. Besides, a little clowning around between friends keeps things fun. You should try and loosen up just a bit. I know there’s way more under that uptight brooding Keith shell,” Lance winked at his passenger.

Keith sat quietly the rest of the drive as he thought about what Lance said. When they arrived, he thanked Lance for the ride and went inside the school. The morning classes went by quickly as Keith tried to pay attention. It seemed like the teachers weren’t going easy on the senior class with the amount of topics and assigned homework. When lunch rolled around, Keith was basically brain fried. He got his tray of food and found his way to the table from yesterday. Lance was there with Hunk and Pidge.

“Hey Keith,” Hunk said between mouthfuls of food. “I’m afraid you can’t have your bike until next week.”

“What happened to it?” Keith asked genuinely concerned about the fate of his reliable two wheel mode of transportation. He had left it in the back of Hunk’s truck last night assuming it would be safe with his friend.

Hunk stopped eating and looked upwards and to the side. It made him look like he was thinking and he didn’t have to make direct eye contact with Keith. “I, um, took it apart. You’re always riding that thing to school so I thought I’d put a motor on it so you don’t have to pedal so much.” Hunk turned his gaze back to the group and you could see the enthusiasm take over his face. “It’s an electrostatic differential motor that charges wirelessly via solar reflectors on the tires and recovers some of the energy when you brake. It’s going to be really cool,” he finished with a giant smile.

Keith sighed. “That sounds great Hunk, thanks. What am I supposed to do this week about getting to school and home?”

Lance spoke up. “I got you covered, Keith. Your house is on the way to school and we both have swimming as the last period so it isn’t a problem.”

“Thanks, Lance. I’ll owe you.”

“Just make sure your alarm goes off next time.” Lance smirked and pulled his phone out and mocked a gesture of setting it on a charger.

Keith rolled his eyes at Lance and started eating. The food was pretty dry and needed to be washed down with water nearly every bite. 

When the lunch period was almost over, Lance stood up with his tray and turned back to the group. “Oh, guess what color Keith’s underwear is?” he asked towards Pidge and Hunk.

In unison, they both said, “Red.”

“Lance!” Keith hollered, but the culprit was already halfway to the exit. 

Pidge and Hunk just sat there laughing as Keith grumbled and took his tray up to the cleaning racks.

Keith sat down next to Lance in physics and glared at him. “Stop talking about my underwear,” he whispered over the aisle.

“Fine, no more underwear jokes. As uptight as you are, someone would assume you wore tighty whities under there.” Lance pointed at Keith’s waist and grinned. “Besides, they look good on you. Your boxer briefs, not tighty whities. Those don’t look good on anyone.”

Keith knew he was blushing so he gritted his teeth and turned back to his own desk. Before he could think of some angry comeback, Professor Ryner arrived and his least favorite class started.

By the time physics was over, Keith was officially mentally done for the day. Every last brain cell had been filled to the limit and was ready to burst. He got up from his desk and walked to the door. He was looking forward to taking out some aggression in the pool. Just like yesterday, Lance was trailing him down the hall and into the locker room. Unlike yesterday, Lance stopped at the row before Keith’s little corner area and turned down to get a locker.

After everyone came out to the pool, Shiro gave them instructions and started working with individuals. Lance and Keith worked together again on helping each other. Today they concentrated on Keith. It wasn’t like Keith needed to fix much being one of the fastest freestyle swimmers in the state, but Lance actually noticed something.

“Ok, go again, but this time, I’m going to lay on the bottom of the pool and watch.” Lance went and grabbed a weight belt and stood in Keith’s lane. As soon as Keith dove in, Lance collapsed back and laid down on the pool bottom. He faced up and watched as Keith passed over the top of him. They repeated this several times.

“So, what did you learn Professor McClain?” Keith asked.

“You’re starting your exhale later than you need to. I should have seen bubbles as soon as your head went back in the water, but you wait until you’re facing the floor to exhale. You aren’t getting a full breath in because there is probably still some bad air in your lungs or you’re trying too hard to get the rest out.”

Keith blinked at Lance. He thought about what he said and realized he might have a point. Keith pulled himself out of the water and dove in for another lap. He saw Lance underneath him giving him two thumbs up on the floor of the pool. When Keith popped up he looked at the timer. He was two tenths of a second faster than the last few times. Lance’s advice worked. Keith was about to turn and thank him when Lance pulled himself out of the water and extended his arm to Keith.

“Told you,” Lance said with a beaming smile.

Keith couldn’t help smile back as Lance helped pull him out of the pool. “Thanks, Lance.”

Shiro called the group together and congratulated them on another good practice. He reminded them of the exhibition match on Saturday and sent everyone to the locker room. Keith was waiting for Lance again in the hall outside after practice.

“I’m exhausted mentally and physically,” Keith admitted to Lance as they started walking to the car. “Between school work and practice, I’m drained.”

“Same here. I’m going to go home, eat dinner, do a little homework and plant myself face down in bed.” He cocked his head to the side. “Maybe do a little mud mask while I do the homework. I’ve been neglecting my skin with all this chlorine exposure.”

Keith opened the door to the Camaro and sat down. “You’re a weird one, Lance.” he didn’t even have the strength to laugh at this point.

Lance pulled up to Keith’s house. “7:15 tomorrow and please be fully dressed this time,” he said with a smile as he waved goodbye and pulled away.

Keith opened the door to his house and walked in. It was dark and deserted again. His dad wasn’t home. Keith sighed and pulled out his PET to work on his homework. 

\------ 

The next few days went by rapidly for Lance and Keith. Lance showed up at 7:15 sharp each day and Keith was waiting outside for him every morning. School went by quickly until lunch when the four friends would share their meal, complaints of homework, stories, and a few laughs. Physics kept dumping harder and harder assignments on Keith who was barely keeping his head above water with the homework. Swim practice was intense with Shiro running time trials on the team members each day trying to get ready for the Saturday exhibition meet. 

When they showed up to the locker room on Friday for the last practice prior to the exhibition meet, they were greeted by Shiro.

“You’ve all been working hard this week. Rather than burn you out before tomorrow’s meet, I’m giving you an hour back of your life,” he said with a smile to the team. “Just make sure you get plenty of sleep tonight and be here a half hour before the meet starts tomorrow.”

Keith and Lance both sighed in relief. As much as they enjoyed swimming, they needed the break. They both walked out to the parking lot and climbed into the Camaro.

“I can’t believe Shiro let us skip practice,” Lance said incredulously.

“I am not complaining. We’ve been pushing it all week. I almost fell asleep in physics today and my arms are sore. I think I’m going to go home, watch a movie, order a pizza, and call it a night.” The exhaustion was creeping into Keith’s voice.

“I envy you a bit on this one. I get to go home to the madhouse. It will be non-stop crazy on a Friday night until it’s time for bed.”

“You can always come over and watch a movie with me. We can order in a pizza from Bakku Pizza and Subs. That’s where I usually order from,” Keith said while looking out the window.

Lance’s mouth started watering at the thought of pizza. “That sounds so good. I can’t remember the last time I had a real pizza.” His face pinched together as he recognized the name. “The pizza place’s slogan isn’t something about safe and warm is it?”

Keith burst out laughing. “Tasty and hot, not safe and warm.” He caught his breath and turned to Lance. “What kind do you like? I’ll put the order in for an hour from now so we don’t get caught up in the evening rush. I usually get pepperoni and sausage, but we can do half and half or something.”

“That sounds just fine to me. Just the thought of melting cheesy goodness is making me drool.”

Keith tapped the order into his phone and then raised his hand to point at Lance’s mouth. “Wow, you weren’t kidding. You’ve got a string of drool coming down from the corner of your mouth.”

“I do not!” Lance took his hand off the steering wheel and wiped at the corner of his mouth. “Ug, I can’t believe I fell for that.”

Keith giggled as they pulled into his driveway. He got out and unlocked the door to the house and left it open for Lance to follow in. He set his backpack down on the floor.

Lance stepped through the door talking on his phone. “I’ll be home by 9 o’clock. Yes, Mom. Keith’s house. We have that swim meet tomorrow so it’s going to be early to bed.” Lance mock sighed and rolled his eyes at Keith. “We’re having Bakku Garden pizza. Yes, I meant Bakku Pizza and Subs. Come on, Mom. I don’t even think Keith has alcohol in his house. Love you too. Bye.” Lance rolled up his phone and plopped onto the small couch next to Keith.

“Your mom is a little protective,” Keith said as he opened his phone and loaded the TV remote app.

“Yeah, she is.”

The sad voice Keith heard come out of Lance was not what he expected. By the time he turned to face him, the jovial Lance was back in control.

“Alright, what are you thinking of for a movie? I haven’t seen one in a long time,” Lance said as he looked over the selection screen that Keith had launched on the TV. “How about that porn there?” he asked as he pointed at Keith’s phone.

“What?!” Keith quickly looked down at his phone and back up to the TV to make sure nothing was on the screen.

“I’m kidding,” Lance said with a grin. “How about something sci-fi? Like one with an evil emperor who conquered the galaxy and only a very small group of heroic people stand in his way.” 

Keith looked over the selection. “How about this one? It’s a scary movie about a serial killer who chases some college kids through an old house?”

Lance shrugged and sat back. “Sounds good to me. Just don’t expect me to hold your hand if you get scared.”

Keith didn’t even respond to the verbal jab and started the movie.

An hour into the movie both of them had their legs pressed up to their chests on the couch and were covering their eyes on and off whenever the film’s scary ‘something is going to happen’ music started playing. Just as the music started again, the doorbell rang. They both screamed at the same time.

After taking a breath, Keith paused the movie and got up. “It’s probably just the pizza delivery guy,” he said as he got up to open the door.

“So you say. I’ll stay over here. It was nice knowing you.”

Keith shook his head and opened the door. He signed the receipt for the pizza and brought it inside. He returned to the couch and set the pizza box on the floor. No sooner was the lid open than Lance had a piece in his mouth.

“Ro rummy,” Lance said with his mouth full.

“I think I eat it too much to appreciate the flavor lately,” Keith said after swallowing his first few bites. By the time the movie was over, the pizza box was empty.

Lance stood up and let loose a thundering belch. “Mind if I use your bathroom?”

Keith jabbed his thumb over the his shoulder towards the hallway. “You know where it is.”

Lance returned and sat back down on the couch. “So, it’s only 7. We could probably watch one more movie before I need to head home. Not a scary one this time.”

Keith scrolled through the options and picked a comedy. “This work? I could use a laugh after that last one.”

“Go for it,” Lance said and leaned back into the couch as Keith started the movie.

\------

Keith’s eyes flew open to the sound of an alarm. No, not an alarm. He turned to look at the table next to the couch. It was a really obnoxious ringtone coming from Lance’s phone. He picked it up and looked at the caller name. Plastered in the center of the rolled up display was ‘Mother’. Keith unrolled the phone and hit the answer button to silence the awful ringtone.

“Hello?” he said quietly. “No, Lance is sleeping. This is Keith. I don’t know what time it is. His ringtone woke me up.” Keith pulled the phone back and looked at the time on the screen. It showed 12:45 AM. “Almost 1 AM. Yes ma’am, he’s fine. Sorry, I promise never refer to you as ma’am again. We were watching a movie and fell asleep. I’ll make sure we get to the swim meet on time in the morning. Goodnight, Mrs. McClain.”

Keith set the phone down on the table next to his own phone and took a quick look around the room. The movie was long since over and some silent screensaver pictures of flowers and puppies was rotating on the old TV. He looked down and saw Lance’s head facing upwards on his lap. 

There was no doubt that Lance was out cold. His breathing was regular and his mouth cracked open just a bit as he exhaled each time. His eyes were restfully closed and one hand was laying across his chest while the other dangled to the floor. One leg was propped up over the armrest of the short couch, the other was bent and resting on the floor. He looked so peaceful. He looked so cute.

Keith let himself smile as he stared down at Lance’s head. How someone so irritating could be so adorable at the same time was beyond explanation. Keith ruffled Lance’s hair with his fingers to gently try and wake him up. The head turned slightly to the side, nuzzling against Keith’s abdomen as a broad grin spread across Lance’s face. Keith gently lifted Lance’s head and extracted himself from the couch. He walked to his bedroom and grabbed one of the pillows off his bed and a sheet from the clean laundry basket on the floor. He went back to the living room and slowly lifted Lance’s head as he slid the pillow underneath. Lance rolled onto his side and snuggled into the pillow. Keith took the blanket and draped it over Lance. He grabbed his phone and went into his bedroom. Setting the alarm for 7:00 AM would give them an hour and a half to get to the swim meet when Shiro asked them to be there. He carefully set the phone on its charger. The last thing Keith wanted was for the phone to die and the alarm fail in the morning. He stripped out of his shirt and jeans and started crawling into bed. He quietly laughed and got up to pull on jogging pants and a t-shirt. There wouldn’t be any underwear jokes out of Lance in the morning.

Keith was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.


	8. Team Spirit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance have their first swim meet together while Pidge has some suggestions for Lance on how to get Keith to wake up.

Chapter 8: Team Spirit

The blaring alarm brought Keith from sleep to awake immediately. He reached over with his right arm and tapped his phone to silence the noise. He slowly sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Walking out into the hallway, Keith suppressed a yawn as he opened the bathroom door. He was greeted by a wall of steam and the sound of the shower running.

“Oh hey! Can you grab me a towel? I wasn’t sure where you kept them and I didn’t want to go snooping through your closets,” Lance said on the other side of the glass shower door. “We really need to talk about your shower products. I can feel this soap drying my skin and this shampoo/conditioner combo is definitely not doing your hair any justice.”

Keith stood frozen with his hand on the doorknob. Lance was half hidden by the steam and fogged up glass, but Keith saw enough.

Lance turned the water off and slid the glass door back enough to poke his head out. “Towel?”

Keith blinked and turned back to the hallway closet to grab a towel. He stepped into the bathroom, keeping his eyes averted from the shower, and handed Lance the towel through the opening. He turned around and exited the bathroom closing the door behind him. 

Lance exited the bathroom a short while later and made his way to the living room. He yelled back down the hall, “Your turn in the shower!”

Keith grabbed a pair of clean jogging pants and a t-shirt and went in the bathroom. After brushing his teeth, he took a cold shower. After he was dried off and dressed, he came out to the living room where Lance was dressed and waiting on the couch.

“You ready? I’m really looking forward to the meet. Actually competing against someone that isn’t on our team should be fun,” Lance said jovially as he got up off the couch.

Keith grabbed his backpack and slowly nodded as he made his way to the door.

Lance followed and got into his car. Once he was out of the driveway, he frowned and turned to Keith. “Are you ok?”

Keith stared out the passenger window. “I’m fine. Just nervous about the meet I guess,” Keith lied. The image of Lance in the shower was still stuck in his head.

Lance turned back to the road. “Don’t worry. You’ll blow them out of the water. I can’t wait to see how I compare. I think all our practice and your pointers really helped.”

They pulled into the pool’s parking lot and went to the locker room. Shiro was waiting for them poolside when they came out.

“Ok everyone! Remember, this doesn’t count toward any official record, but I’m expecting you to do your best. We’ve been practicing for this.” 

He put his hand out and the team circled around. They all raised their hands and yelled, “GOOOOOO LIONS!” The whole team cheered and everyone got ready for their events. 

As the meet progressed, the Garrison Lions were easily beating the times of the North Meridian team in nearly every heat. Lance was rather proud of himself as he soundly beat the other team in both the 100m and 200m backstroke. Keith was just about to dive in on the 400m freestyle after having taken first place in the 100m and 200m events.

Lance scanned the crowd and waved to his family on the bleachers. As he waved, he noticed someone in the Garrison section who didn’t look very happy. He was intently watching the swimmers get ready to start the 400m freestyle. Lance thought he looked familiar. He stared for a bit and then it hit him. If the skin was purple and the eyes were yellow…

“Haxus,” Lance mumbled under his breath. It looked like he was taking notes and observing the Garrison team. It made sense Galra High would send a spy to watch what their opponents were up to, but it made Lance’s skin crawl. He had a personal vendetta against Haxus for breaking into the Castle. He was distracted when the buzzer sounded and the heat began.

Keith entered the water smoothly and moved like a fish. By the first turn, he was already seconds ahead of the other swimmers. When the heat was over, it took a while before the second place swimmer touched the wall. Keith hoisted himself out of the water and pulled off his swim cap and goggles. Several members of the Lions came over to congratulate him.

Lance looked up to the stands again, but Haxus was gone. He must have gotten the intel he needed. “Not good,” Lance muttered to himself as he walked over to congratulate Keith.

The other events passed by quickly and soon the meet was over. The Lions had easily taken every event. Shiro’s coaching and their hard practice had definitely paid off. The team did a last cheer before starting to clear the pool area.

Lance ran over to his pile of stuff and pulled out his phone. He ran back over to Shiro and handed him the phone. “Take a pic of us to celebrate our first win.” He ran back over to where Keith was still standing pool side.

Keith felt Lance’s arm encircle his waist as he noticed Shiro with the phone. He shook his head and smiled as Shiro snapped the picture.

Lance pulled his arm away and turned to Keith. “Not bad for our first competition, right?”

“Your first, Lance. I’ve been doing this for a few years now,” Keith said while smiling. “Hey Shiro, hold on a sec.” He walked over to grab his phone and brought it to Shiro. “I need a pic of this too.”

Keith took up position next to Lance at the side of the pool. He wrapped his right arm around Lance’s shoulders and Lance put his left around Keith’s waist. They both smiled at the camera.

Shiro snapped the pic and started lowering the phone.

“Hang on, take one more. Just in case Lance was blinking or something,” Keith said. “Count it down so he can make sure his eyes are open.”

Lance looked insulted at the implication he would mess up a photo opportunity, but turned and smiled at Shiro again.

Shiro nodded. He noticed Keith had shifted position a little planting his left foot further out. “No way…,” he whispered to himself trying not to smile as he counted down.

“3, 2, 1, chee…” 

Keith pulled his arm away from Lance’s waist and hip checked Lance. Arms flailing like a cartoon character, Lance tumbled sideways into the pool. He came up shaking the water out of his hair. Keith was laughing and holding his arm down to help Lance out of the pool.

“Oh, hell no!” Lance yelled as he grabbed Keith’s arm and planted his feet against the pool wall. One good tug and the laughing stopped as Keith went splashing in next to Lance. Both of them surfaced and started laughing.

Shiro walked over laughing as he scrolled through the pics on Keith’s phone. “Now that was not something I expected. I got all that captured right here. I’ll set it with your stuff, Keith.” He tapped the phone and wandered away.

“I can’t believe you did that!” Lance laughed at Keith.

“Hey, you told me to lighten up a bit. Besides, you were already wet,” he said with a broad smile.

They pulled themselves out of the pool and went in the locker room to change. This time it was Lance waiting outside for Keith.

“My family is going out to eat and celebrate. You want to come along?” Lance asked.

Keith thought for a few seconds. “Sure, why not?”

Lance beamed and started walking to the parking lot. They both talked about their heats and how they crushed the North Meridian High team on the drive to the restaurant. It reminded Lance of how they were after a successful battle in the real world.

The restaurant was one of Lance’s favorite places to go when he was a kid. “Ah Pasta, Pasta, Pasta!” was the name and, obviously, pasta was their specialty. They went inside and Keith got to meet Lance’s dad for the first time. After a hug and some congratulations, they ordered buffet plates for the whole group. Keith passed around his phone and everyone had a laugh at the expression on Lance’s face as he got pushed into the pool. When the food arrived, Lance sucked down more spaghetti than humanly possible and Keith devoured several plates of lasagna. By the time the meal was over, they were both feeling horribly stuffed. They got another round of hugs from the family and went out to the car.

“That was a mistake,” Lance muttered.

“What was? Finishing off the last meatball or the tiramisu afterwards,” Keith groaned.

“Probably both, but they tasted good.”

“Look at it this way, we probably just made up for all the calories we burned off during the swim meet today,” Keith said without much conviction.

They pulled into Keith’s driveway and he slowly got out of the car.

“I’m going home to enter a food coma,” Lance said as Keith closed the car door.

“I’ll be sleeping before you get home. Great job today and thanks for the invite to dinner. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow?” Keith suggested.

“I think Hunk is coming over to look at my car tomorrow. We’ll stop over here after he takes a look. Maybe he’s done working on your bike.”

“Sounds good. Night, Lance,” Keith said as he slowly made his way to the door of his house. Once inside, he dropped his bag and flopped down on the couch. His stomach was so full, he didn’t know if he’d ever move again. Keith brought out his phone and scrolled through the pictures Shiro had taken. The expression on Lance’s face was priceless as he realized he was going into the water. Keith’s expression in the next few pics was just as comical when Lance yanked him in. After giggling over the pics, he scrolled back to the first one Shiro had taken. He and Lance were standing next to each other in just their swimsuits, arms around each other’s waist, and smiling. After staring for a few seconds, Keith laid his phone next to him and flopped his head back against the couch with a sigh.

“Seriously, Keith?” he asked himself. “Are you really crushing on Lance?”

\------

Sunday morning at the McClain home involved getting dressed up and heading to church. Lance had forgotten how much he hated wearing a tie. The service was brief and Lance called Hunk on the ride back to his house.

“Hey, just got done with church. Did you want to come over and look at the Camaro?” he asked Hunk over the hands free speaker in his car.

“Yeah. Be there in a bit. Pidge wanted me to bring her over too when I look at it so I’ll swing by and pick her up,” Hunk explained.

“Ok. I’ll see you both in a while. Bring Keith’s bike along if you’re done with it.” Lance hung up and leaned back in the driver seat. He was glad Pidge was coming along. There hadn’t been a good time for them to talk again after his big reveal to her the prior week. She’d had some time to think and maybe come up with some ideas on what Lance should do.

Lance pulled into the driveway right behind his dad and ran into the house to get out of his suit and tie before Hunk came over. By the time he’d changed into something more comfortable, he heard the rumble of Hunk’s truck pull up in front of the house. Lance came out of the house to the sight of Hunk bending down trying to give Lance’s small mother a hug. Lance suppressed a laugh and walked over to the group.

“Yes, Mom. I will come over more often,” Hunk was pleading with the small woman as she lectured him on being a stranger.

Pidge stood off to the side observing the interchange with a grin on her face. She walked around Hunk and over to Lance. “Your mother is quite the character. Is that what she’s like in the real world?” she asked Lance.

A sad look crept across Lance’s face. “That is exactly how I remember her. It’s so hard seeing her here knowing none of it is real. I wake up some mornings and want this all to be real. I could be with my family and friends and not worry about having to save the universe every other week.”

“They aren’t real, Lance. I’m not real. None of this is. Based on what you’ve told me, I don’t know how long this little psychological fantasy can last. Eventually, Keith’s brain will start to shut down and you might get pulled along with it.”

“I know. That’s why I need him to wake up. Regardless of how perfect this is, I’d rather have a chance to see my real families again.” Lance was interrupted as his mother detached herself from Hunk and came walking over to them.

“Lance, who is this adorable young woman?” his mother said as she smiled at Pidge.

“Mom, this is Pidge. She’s a certified genius and friends with Hunk and Keith,” Lance volunteered to his mother.

“Smart and beautiful, a dangerous combination. So you know Keith too? He’s such a sweet young man. I can see why Lance likes hanging around him so much,” his mother said as she walked into the house.

Pidge’s eyebrows went up just above the rim of her glasses and her eyes shifted up and to the left to look at Lance. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

Lance was saved by the sound of Hunk screaming after opening the hood of the Camaro.

“What have you done to this poor engine?!” Hunk roared. “This was as good as new 12 months ago.” His bottom lip turned up and Lance swore he saw tears welling in his eyes. “You’ve nearly killed it.” He stood up from the car and swung his arm off to the side pointing away from the car without actually looking at Lance. “Go! Let me work on this majestic beast.”

Lance took the hint and walked over to the side of the house where there was a small patio with a table and some worn outdoor chairs. He and Pidge sat down out of everyone’s hearing range.

“Ok, so what should I do?” Lance implored her.

“I think some strong bond with the real world is the only thing that will give Keith the lifeline he needs to pull out of this. You mentioned that the Lions bond to their owners and Keith’s bond was particularly strong. What about yours?”

Lance smiled. “My Lion and I are besties. I don’t put myself in the middle of dangerous situations like Keith does so she doesn’t have to come rescue me like a stubborn lost cub.”

Pidge nodded as she digested the information. “So, what does your bond feel like? Can you sense it now?”

Lance’s face squished into deep thought as he tried to explain what it felt like when Blue was there. “When I’m in the Lion, it’s like she’s talking to me, but not with words. It’s more like feelings and images that jump into my head. When I’m away from her, there’s always a little tingle in the back of my head. Like a quiet purr that comforts me. If I get upset, I can feel the purring change like she’s ready to do something. It’s really hard to explain.”

“How about now? Can you feel anything from your Lion?” Pidge inquired.

Lance leaned back in the chair and exhaled. “No. There’s nothing. She’s gone. No purring.”

“Well, you’re body is unconscious out there right now so there may not be a connection or it’s very weak. Have you tried concentrating or meditating to try and reach out to the Lion?”

Lance closed his eyes and took some deep breaths. He tuned out all the noises around him. He tuned out Hunk banging on his engine, the sound of his brothers playing in the back yard, the noise of the crickets in the grass, and even his own breathing. He concentrated on the emptiness. Then he felt it. The sensation was weak, but it was there. She was there. A smile slowly spread across Lance’s face as he opened his eyes.

Pidge was leaning forward in her chair watching Lance. “Anything?”

“She’s still there. It’s really weak, but she’s there.” Lance said excitedly. “I’m sure Red is connected to Keith too. If he sensed her, he’d know what was out there. He’d realize what was happening.”

Pidge leaned back in thought. “If it’s that weak, you’ll have to figure out some way to strengthen it. You said Keith’s Lion has come to rescue him several times. What causes his bond to get stronger?”

Lance pursed his lips as he thought about it. “There were two conditions his Lion reacted to in the past. If he was in serious danger, she’d actually come to rescue him. The other condition happened when he was in the heat of battle and she reacted to his efforts. He even took on Zarkon alone once with Red and she changed form to create a new weapon.”

“Well, if you can get him to realize that bond with his Lion, that might be enough to pull him out of this.”

Lance squinted his eyes. “So either I put his life in mortal danger or get him in a combat situation that will push him to the limit of his abilities?” He leaned back in his chair. “That should be simple!” he said sarcastically.

Pidge shook her head. “Sorry, Lance. That’s the best I can come up with under the circumstances.”

“I know. Well, at least it’s something. Thanks for working on it, Pidge.” He sighed and stood up. “Let’s go see how Hunk is doing.”

They walked around the house to the driveway where Hunk was standing in front of the Camaro. His arms were crossed, he had grease all over his hands, but a smile lit up his face.

“Fixed!” Hunk yelled to no one in particular. He wandered to the side of the car, leaned in the window, and started it up. 

Lance was used to the clunking and wheezing of the engine every time it tried to start. This was more like a single powerful growl followed by a menacing purr. He ran over and jumped in the driver seat. He pressed down on the accelerator and was rewarded with a smooth ramp up and down of the engine. He could feel the power vibrate through the steering wheel, but the sound was calm and controlled.

“Yes, you’re welcome,” Hunk said with pride. “Now please, please treat it with respect and don’t destroy the engine again.”

“This is amazing!” Lance hollered out the window. He shut the car off and got out. “Thanks, Hunk. It’s like a brand new car.”

“Oh, that reminds me. I finished Keith’s bike. We should take it over to him. He’ll never need to pedal again. Well, unless it’s dark out, then the solar panels on the tires won’t work.” Hunk scowled. “Maybe I didn’t think that all the way through.”

Lance patted Hunk on the back. “Trust me, he’ll love it. I told him we’d stop over today so hop in your truck and I’ll take my reborn Camaro for a test drive.”

The two vehicles left Lance’s house and started on their way to the Kogane residence.

\------

The ice bath felt amazing. Sometimes it was the little things in life that were most pleasurable. Lotor leaned his head back against the headrest and curled his toes in the chilled water. It helped compensate for his higher than normal body temperature. His quiet relaxation was interrupted by the opening of the Galra High locker room door. He lifted his head and opened his eyes in irritation. Haxus stood in front of him looking like an eager Labrador waiting for his master to throw a tennis ball.

“Haxus, I was expecting to see you yesterday after the Garrison and North Meridian exhibition meet. Yet, here you are today interrupting my ice bath,” Lotor said as he got up from the tub of ice water.

Haxus averted his gaze as the naked Lotor stepped from the tub and wrapped a towel around his waist. “I.. I’m sorry.”

Lotor turned his head to the side as he cracked a sinister smile. “Am I really so impressive that you have to look away and stutter? Pathetic,” he snorted and walked to the lockers. “Don’t just stand there blubbering. What did you learn at the meet?”

Haxus raised his head to look Lotor in the eyes as he delivered his reconnaissance report. “They beat North Meridian easily. Several heats were close, but the Garrison team shows major improvement from last year.”

Lotor pulled on some underwear and started pulling his jeans out of the locker. “That was inevitable. Shiro’s skill as a coach rivals Haggar’s abilities. Who are their strongest members?”

“The whole team is good overall, but there were several standouts. One was apparently a walk-on just before school started.” Haxus looked down at the notes on his phone. “Lance McClain. He was in all the backstroke events. His times were impressive. Better than our team’s backstroke records.”

Lotor ground his teeth together as he pulled his jeans on. “Better than our times? Apparently we’re slipping. What about their team captain, Keith?”

Haxus took a deep breath before delivering the bad news. “He swims freestyle. He won the 100, 200, and 400.”

Lotor pulled on a tight fitting shirt and focused his gaze on Haxus. “I expected as much. How did his freestyle times compare to mine?”

Haxus took a step back. “He was only a second behind your time in the 400.”

The anger flashed in his eyes as Lotor resisted the urge to backhand Haxus. He took a deep breath and calmed himself. His lips peeled back letting his sharp teeth show. “Well, then we know who we need to focus our attention on. Follow him and find out what his schedule is. He and I need to spend some quality time together.” He waved his hand dismissing Haxus who didn’t waste any time escaping the locker room.


	9. Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Keith spend some quality time with their friends.

Chapter 9: Bonding

Keith heard the rumble of Hunk’s engine and went out the front door. The truck pulled up on one side of the driveway and came to a stop. Hunk shut off the truck’s engine and stepped down. He waved at Keith and went around to the back of the truck. Pidge hopped down from her elevated perch and walked over towards Keith. 

“He’s done with your bike and pretty proud of it,” Pidge informed Keith. “He didn’t think everything through though. The solar power from the tire panels will only keep it running during the day and the battery will drain pretty quickly after that. So, don’t get stranded too far from home when the sun goes down. The engine and battery he installed added significant weight so it will be a pain to pedal very far after dark.”

Lance’s Camaro pulled up quietly on the other side of the driveway and came to a stop. He got out and went to the back of the truck to help Hunk get the bike down.

Keith stared at the Camaro. “How come it’s so quiet? That thing usually sounds like one of those old gas powered lawn mowers running over a pile of sticks.”

Pidge grinned. “Hunk overhauled the engine again. You can hardly hear it except when starting or accelerating. Lance looked pretty happy when he started it up after Hunk worked on it.”

Lance and Hunk made their way back up to the front of the vehicles with the revamped bike. The wheels were lined with solar panels and there was an enclosure on both sides of the rear tire that extended forward towards the pedals. Keith assumed that housed the battery and some kind of motor.

Hunk exuded eagerness like a small child. “Give it a try,” he directed towards Keith. “The solar panels will keep it charging during the day so you should be able to easily get to school and home without needing to pedal.”

“I don’t mind the exercise, but it will be nice to just ride home after swim practice instead of pedaling. I kind of got used to Lance giving me a ride.” Keith sat on the bike and twisted the handle mounted throttle.

Hunk had failed to mention the acceleration curve and top speed of the enhanced bike. They all laughed as Keith went shooting down the driveway and into the street. Luckily, he got control of it pretty quickly and was zooming up and down the street before too long. He brought it back into the driveway and came to a rolling stop.

“Ok, that is awesome!” he told Hunk. “I’ll be to school in half the time it used to take.”

“Probably more like one third the time based on the observed speed of the bike versus your typical manual speed,” Pidge said. “I’d advise against going at top speed though. I doubt you’d be able to control the bike if something altered your course.”

“Ok, now who’s hungry?” Hunk inquired. “I know I am and there just happens to be some food for grilling in the back of the truck.” He walked back and pulled some steaks and other items from the cooler in the truck bed. 

The group made their way around to the back of Keith’s house where there was an older gas powered grill. It had definitely seen better days, but the burners kicked on as soon as Keith tapped the ignition button on the display panel. Hunk wasted no time in laying out a variety of meat on the grilling surface. He whipped out different seasonings and was soon lost in his world of creative cooking. The other three stepped back to give Hunk some space and also to avoid the rapidly flying utensils. 

“Your car actually sounds like a modern vehicle and not a wood chipper now,” Keith teased Lance.

“A wood chipper? Really? That reliable car hauled your ass to and from school most of last week if I remember correctly,” Lance said as he poked at Keith’s chest. He turned around and crossed his arms. “I am never speaking to you again until you apologize to my car.”

Keith smirked and turned away. “If I’d known that insulting your car would be all it took to get you to stop talking to me, I’d have done it two weeks ago.” 

Lance uncrossed his arm and turned around. The expression on his face a mix of confusion and hurt. “You really don’t want me talking to you?”

As hard as Keith tried, he couldn’t keep himself from laughing.

Lance’s expression went from hurt to mildly annoyed. “Oh, ha ha. I tell you to lighten up one time and suddenly you’re shoving me in the pool and cracking jokes at my expense.” He walked over to stand in front of Keith again. “At least my hairstyle isn’t stolen from an old cartoon character.”

“Hey, plenty of hockey players have hair like mine. Besides, I don’t feel the need to sit in a salon for hours while someone cuts my hair like you do,” Keith fired back.

Lance smirked a bit. “You’re not a hockey player. Last time I checked you’re a swimmer in this reality, Mullet.”

Keith scowled at Lance. “At least I don’t go to bed with mud on my face and cucumbers on my eyes.”

Pidge stood there staring directly in between the two of them. Her eyes shifted back and forth as she observed the conversation like it was a bad tennis match. She wondered if this is what it was like in the real world between those two. 

“My sleeping habits are none of your concern. Besides, who can argue with skin this soft?” Lance reached forward and grabbed Keith’s hand pulling it up to his cheek.

Keith’s face went bright red, but it wasn’t out of anger. He yanked his hand back from Lance’s face. “I don’t need to feel how soft your skin is.”

“You’re just jealous.” Lance folded his arms in front of him and his voice took on a tone of authority. “The soap I used in your shower practically pulled the moisture from my skin. If you don’t start using something better, you’re going to be all scaly like a lizard. At least you have fluffy towels.”

Pidge had a grin on her face now after watching them bicker and seeing how red Keith got when Lance had grabbed his hand. “So, you’ve been in Keith’s shower?” she asked innocently towards Lance.

Keith turned red again remembering just how much of Lance he’d seen through the fogged up bathroom.

“Yes, I spent the night at his house Friday before the swim meet,” Lance explained to Pidge.

“On the couch,” Keith blurted out too quickly.

Pidge fixed Keith with a stare and adjusted her glasses like she was about to embark on a fact finding mission.

“Food’s done!” Hunk shouted, rescuing Keith from Pidge.

Keith quickly ran towards the grill and grabbed a plate from Hunk. He was starved and it was the perfect excuse to end that conversation.

As Lance was grabbing his plate, he noticed a black car driving up the street towards Keith’s house. Outside of school hours, that was the first time Lance had seen a car on the road that didn’t belong to one of them. He walked around to the side of the house and watched it drive by slowly and continue on up the street. He watched as it disappeared and then went back to the group in the backyard. 

The group took their plates into the house. Keith got two folding chairs out and they all sat down at the small dining table to eat. Hunk had once again created a culinary masterpiece for them out of very few ingredients. The meat was seasoned with different types of spices and unbelievably tender. The sauteed vegetables alongside the meat were fantastic.

“This is so good,” Lance told Hunk.

“Thanks. I tried some new spices this time and it really turned out pretty good. Oh, and I made extra for you Keith. I already put two meals worth in your freezer,” Hunk explained.

“Oh, thanks! No TV dinners for the next few days,” Keith said cheerfully.

After the meal, they all piled into the living room. Lance and Pidge sat on the couch while Hunk and Keith took the floor. Keith booted up Call of Fighters on the game system and handed a controller to Hunk. 

Halfway into the first match, Hunk started turning green. “Ok, done. All that motion on the screen is making my stomach flip.”

Lance laughed and grabbed the controller from Hunk. “Keep the food down buddy, we don’t need to be cleaning up Keith’s living room.”

Hunk got up and went in to sit at the dining table while Lance took over for him in the game. Unlike the previous experiences with the game at Lance’s house, the competitors seemed to be nearly evenly matched. Lance would snipe Keith from a distance on a regular basis. If Keith made it in close enough, Lance would usually lose to Keith’s sword. After six matches, they were tied 3-3 and decided to call it a night.

They all filed outside and started getting in vehicles. Hunk pulled out with Pidge waving goodbye from the window of his truck. Lance was getting into the Camaro when he remembered something. He leaned over into the back seat and grabbed a small bag before getting out of the car again. He walked up to Keith and handed him the bag.

“Do I even want to know?” Keith asked as he took the bag from Lance.

“Shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. I was serious about your skin drying out. Just use them, ok?”

Keith looked in the bag at the lavender infused shampoo and conditioner along side the oatmeal body wash and looked up at Lance like they may have been bottles of poison.

“No. Do not argue. Just try them tomorrow and see how much better your skin and hair feel,” he said while climbing in the Camaro. The engine gently revved to life while Lance rolled down the window and leaned out. “Besides, I want something better in your shower for the next time I spend the night,” he said with a smirk as he backed the car on to the street and drove off.

Keith just shook his head while taking the bag back in his house.

As the door closed, the black car from earlier made another slow pass in front of Keith’s house before continuing down the street.

\------

Keith woke up to his irritating alarm and shuffled his way into the bathroom. He brushed his teeth and stripped down tossing his underwear in the hamper by the door. Sliding open the glass shower door, he turned on the water. Just as Keith was about to climb in, he remembered the bag Lance had given him. After debating for a few seconds, he replaced the items in the shower with what Lance had put in the bag. As he lathered up his hair, the scent of lavender filled the shower. Keith had to admit, it smelled way better than his old shampoo.

After drying off, Keith pulled on clean underwear, some jeans, and a black t-shirt. As he was fluffing his hair, he noticed it really was less tangled and wiry than before. He’d never tell that to Lance, but there definitely was a difference.

Hunk’s modified bike was actually fun to ride to school. No pedaling required and it moved along at a pretty brisk pace. Keith ignored Pidge’s advice and maxed out the speed for most of the ride. He arrived early to school and chained up the bike making sure the solar panels would be in the sun most of the day. He went inside and headed towards his home room.

Lance pulled into the lot a few minutes after Keith had entered the building. As he walked from his car to the door, he saw the altered Hunk-bike chained up at the rack. He made his way to Coran’s home room and sat in his usual seat. The group of cheerleaders who sat behind him took a greater interest today. 

“So, we heard that the Garrison swim team kicked North Meridian’s ass on Saturday,” the one with long blonde hair said as she leaned forward towards Lance’s desk.

Lance turned his chair around and leaned on the back with his arms crossed. “Yes we did. How did I miss your gorgeous smile cheering me on from the crowd?” he said with a wink.

The blonde smiled coyly as she leaned back in her seat. “We only attend sanctioned events, not exhibition ones. We’ll make sure and be at the next real competition.”

“I will definitely keep an eye out for you. I’m Lance by the way, Lance McClain.”

The blonde smiled and leaned forward again. “Nyma. Maybe you can give me a private swimming lesson one of these days?”

“I’m at the pool every day after school. Just stop by and I’m sure we can arrange a lesson,” Lance finished with dual finger guns before turning his chair back around as Coran entered the room.

\------

The morning blew by for everyone and they met at their usual lunch table. The food selection of the day barely qualified as food. The main dish was roast beef that contained more fat and gristle than meat.

“I think someone dropped some glue in the mac and cheese by accident,” Hunk said as he held up a fork with his entire portion stuck to the end.

“More like someone dropped some macaroni in the glue by accident,” Lance said as he poked at his pile of yellow paste.

Keith slowly chewed his roast beef and swallowed. “Hunk, this really makes me appreciate your cooking.”

“I don’t think he can answer you,” Pidge inserted. “The mac and cheese appears to have bonded to his teeth. Hunk will never speak again.”

Hunk pretended his jaw was sealed shut and the whole group got a good laugh at the school food’s expense.

Keith picked up his tray and groaned. “First this crappy food, now physics. Not my favorite Monday.”

Lance stood up right behind Keith. “Oh come on. It’s the first time you get to sit next to my smiling face in class today!”

Keith turned back to Hunk and Pidge. “Can it get any worse?”

Lance ignored the laughing from Hunk and Pidge. “Ha ha, Keith. See if I help you with your physics homework now.”

They both put their trays on the return and started walking towards their physics class.

“Seriously though, this class is kicking my ass, Lance. I may need your help,” Keith admitted.

“We can settle on my tutoring fee later,” Lance joked. “I can come over after swim practice tonight and we can tackle whatever crazy homework Professor Ryner dishes out today.”

Keith bowed his head. “Thanks. I think Professor Ryner has it out for me.”

They took their seats and sat through another mind crushing physics lecture. When the period ended, they both walked silently to swimming practice. When they arrived at the locker room, there was a note on the door saying to go to the classroom up the hall to review footage from Saturday’s meet. 

Shiro was setting up the video from Saturday when the team started taking their seats. He ran through several of the heats as the team discussed areas they could improve. At the end of the hour, he reminded them that the real challenges were still ahead and dismissed the team.

Lance and Keith walked out to the parking lot together. They stopped at Keith’s bike.

“I think we should work on the physics at your house,” Lance suggested. “My house is a little crazy for concentrating. Let’s order a pizza for delivery so you can save Hunk’s meals for another day. We can get our other homework done before the pizza arrives and then work on the physics stuff together after we eat. Physics on an empty stomach is not a good idea.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll meet you at my house,” Keith said as he hopped on his bike. 

Lance made his way to his car and pulled onto the road. Keith had a little head start, but even with Hunk’s modifications, the Camaro was still faster. As Lance started catching up to Keith, he pulled behind a black car. It looked like the same car that had been driving by Keith’s house yesterday. Lance dropped back a bit and watched as the black car followed every turn Keith made on his way towards the house. Lance increased his speed and moved into the left lane to pass the mystery car. He looked over into the driver’s window and saw Haxus. 

Lance floored it and pulled in front of the black car. He slammed on his brakes and the car suddenly turned off onto a side road and sped away. He looked over as the car disappeared down the road. “What is he after?” Lance wondered as he resumed his route to Keith’s house. He caught up to Keith and followed him into the driveway.

“Did you see that black car following you?” Lance asked as he got out of the car.

“No one was following me. Why would anyone follow me?” Keith wondered aloud.

Lance couldn’t even begin to explain why it concerned him. He’d sound like a crazy person to Keith again. “I meant he was following too close. Just watch yourself on that fancy bike.”

They went in the house and Lance ordered up a pizza as they got out their PETs. The two sat down at opposite sides of the dining table and brought up their homework. They both worked in silence on their separate assignments until the pizza arrived.

“Finally,” Keith said as he got up to grab some napkins. “I’m starving.”

Lance set the box on the table and they both dug in. It wasn’t long before the box was mostly empty and it was time to get back to the homework.

Keith put the last couple pieces into the freezer and sat back down. He brought up the physics assignments on his PET and groaned.

“Oh come on,” Lance chided from across the table. “It isn’t that bad and your genius friend is here to help you.”

“My genius friend is probably assembling an antigravity generator in her basement right now,” Keith said with a grin. “You are her partially qualified substitute.”

“Well, this substitute already finished the assignment so what do you have to say to that?”

Keith dropped the smile and sighed. “Help?”

“Good answer,” Lance said and got up from his side of the table. He moved his chair over beside Keith and pointed down at the PET. “Ok, first question…” 

They worked at it for a couple of hours. Keith continually getting frustrated by the questions followed by Lance calming him down and explaining how to get the answers. By the time Keith got to the final set of questions, he was answering them mostly on his own.

“Nice! Almost done,” Lance said as he got up to use the bathroom. 

After he’d flushed the toilet, Lance started washing his hands. He looked to the left at the shower and wondered if Keith actually used the shampoo and other items he gave to him. After drying his hands, he pulled open the glass door to look inside. A smile spread across his face when he saw the shampoo, conditioner, and body wash he’d given Keith sitting on the shelf.

When Lance came back out to the dining table, Keith was finishing the last problem. Lance leaned down over his shoulder and pointed out the one error that Keith had made. That cleared everything up and Keith completed the problem.

“Done.” Keith said as he hit the submit button on the homework. “I would have been up all night working on that if you hadn’t helped.”

Lance put his hands on Keith’s shoulders. “Anytime you need help, just ask. You don’t always have to be so damn stubborn about everything.” Lance gripped down to accentuate his point. “Holy crap your shoulders are tight.” He started squeezing and rubbing his thumbs into the obvious knots on Keith’s shoulder blades.

Keith wanted to say something, but Lance was right. He was tense from being frustrated and having the knots worked out felt good. He just sighed and let Lance work his muscles a bit. 

“You used the stuff I gave you. Your hair smells like lavender,” Lance said as he sniffed the air above Keith’s head.

Keith tilted his head backwards to look up at Lance. “Sniffing my hair isn’t weird at all, Lance. Yes, I used the shampoo.”

Lance stuck his tongue out at Keith and let go of his shoulders. “I wasn’t sniffing your hair. The smell just wafted up.”

“Right,” Keith said as he made exaggerated sniffing sounds like a dog. He stood up and took his PET into the living room and slipped it in his backpack.

“Admit it, your hair doesn’t feel like straw now,” Lance said as he walked behind Keith. He shoved his hand into Keith’s hair and ruffled it.

Keith batted Lance’s hand out of hair as he turned around. “Don’t mess with my hair!” Keith said as he playfully shoved Lance.

“Don’t mess with my hair,” Lance mocked Keith as he pushed him backwards.

The back of Keith’s thighs hit the couch’s arm. His arms whirled as he fell backwards onto the couch and then rolled onto the floor.

They were both laughing as Lance extended his arm to help Keith up. Lance gave a swift tug and Keith sprung to his feet. The tug was a bit stronger than Keith anticipated and he lost his footing falling forward against Lance. Lance instinctively threw his arm around Keith to keep him from falling backwards.

Keith was only inches away from Lance’s face. He’d never seen Lance’s eyes this closely. The deep blue color made perfect sense considering Lance’s obsession with the color blue. He didn’t realize that he’d been staring into them until he saw the lopsided grin forming on Lance’s face.

“You ok?” Lance asked as he took his arm away from Keith’s back.

Keith took a step back and looked anywhere but at Lance’s face. “Yeah, fine. Just lost my balance for a second.”

“Ok. Probably time for me to get going.” Lance gathered his PET and tucked it into his backpack. He walked to the door and went outside.

“Hey, Lance?” Keith called out from the doorway.

Halfway to his car, Lance turned around towards Keith. “Yeah?”

Keith opened his mouth and closed it. “Nothing. Thanks for helping with the homework. See you tomorrow.”

Lance smiled. “Like I said, anytime.” He turned and continued towards his car. “See you in school tomorrow, Mullet,” he called over his shoulder. Lance got in the Camaro and drove off.

Keith closed the door and leaned his back against it. He took a deep breath and sighed before heading to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These recent chapters have been flowing out pretty quick. Comments and reviews are welcome and appreciated!


	10. Beach Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The four friends and a new face get out of school early. They spend a day at the beach enjoying the sun and each other's company.

Chapter 10: Beach Time

Keith arrived to school early again and locked up his bike. He was going to have to leave a little later in the morning or not go full throttle on the bike. He wandered into the crowd and made his way towards the building.

As soon as Keith was inside the school, a lone figure walked over towards the chained up bike. He quickly reached up underneath the seat and placed a tracking device where it wouldn’t easily be seen. Haxus did one last visual sweep of the crowd before walking to his car and driving off towards Galra High.

Lance meandered from his car to the school giving high fives to random people and winking at attractive girls or boys just for fun. He wandered into his home room and took his seat. He turned around and gave Nyma a smile as Coran started his morning briefing. 

“Well, I know all you young whipper snappers are eager to get to your learning adventure today, but I have some bad news,” Coran announced. “Due to the unusually high temperatures the last few days, the school’s reactor has been operating at critical levels this week. No cause for concern my little knowledge seekers, but we’re dismissing school at noon today. The reactor will be shut down and a new cooling system installed to guarantee your safety. Enjoy your morning classes and we will see you bright and chipper tomorrow.”

Lance was thrilled when he heard the news and ran out of home room as soon as the buzzer sounded. He saw Keith down the hall as he was headed towards his first class.

“Did you hear the good news?” Keith asked as he walked over to Lance.

“Yes! Done at noon today. That means we have all afternoon to do something fun,” Lance said cheerfully.

“Who cares about fun, it means no physics class today!” Keith said clearly ecstatic about the news.

Lance shook his head. “Yes, that too. So, what are we going to do all afternoon?”

“I vote beach day. With the hot weather, a day by the ocean sounds good. What do you think?”

“Definitely!” Lance said excitedly. “I’ll need to swing by home and grab a swimsuit if we’re going down to the beach. I don’t think Shiro would approve getting saltwater in our swim team suits.”

“Yeah, that saltwater lecture is not something you want to hear from him,” Keith said with a frown. “Been there, done that. I’ll ride home and grab mine. Can you pick me up after you grab yours? I’d rather not ride the bike there.”

“Of course, but you will have to apologize to my car for insulting her before,” Lance said with a mischievous grin.

“I am not apologizing to your car. If you see Hunk or Pidge, let them know the plan. Otherwise, we’ll have to message them when class is over.” Keith turned towards his first class and ran off. 

As soon as morning classes were over, there was cheering and yelling in the halls. Getting a free half day off from school was something everyone could get excited about. The students all exited the building in a rush.

As he left the building, Lance got a message from Keith saying he’d talked to Pidge and Hunk. They would join them down at the beach. Even better, Hunk was bringing food for all of them.

Lance drove home and ran in the house explaining to his mother that he wasn’t skipping school as he ran into his bedroom. He dug through his dresser and found what he was looking for. After pulling on his swimwear and checking himself out in the mirror, he pulled on a white tank top and ran out the door. 

Keith was standing out in front of his house in a pair of red board shorts and a loose black v-neck t-shirt waiting for Lance. When the quiet Camaro pulled up, he hopped in the passenger seat.

Lance looked over at Keith and laughed. “Red shorts? Why am I not surprised?”

Keith looked down at Lance and burst out laughing too. “Um, yours are blue, smartass. I think we’ve officially established our favorite colors.”

Lance started the car and backed out of the driveway. “Maybe we should switch sometime. I think you’d look good in blue.”

“I can’t imagine you in red. It just doesn’t seem like it would fit you well. Not to mention, I’m not really up for other people wearing my clothes,” Keith said.

Lance shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know. You don’t like anyone touching your stuff. You’re a very private person Kogane. One of these days, you’re going to have to let someone in though.”

“Just drive,” Keith implored. “After you get your degree in clinical psychology, we can continue this discussion.”

Lance made his way down the winding roads to the beach. Hunk’s truck appeared up the road behind them as they got close to the ocean. Both vehicles parked in the little lot just uphill from the beach area. Lance reached in back and grabbed out a bag with some towels. They both got out and walked over towards the truck.

The passenger door opened and a clearly flustered Pidge lept down from the truck.

“You’re giving me a ride home,” she said matter of factly to Lance. “That was not a comfortable ride,” she mumbled and wandered towards the back of the truck.

Keith and Lance looked at each other raising their eyebrows and shoulders indicating they had no idea what Pidge’s problem was. At that moment another person started getting out of the passenger side of the truck.

A woman stepped down to the ground and turned towards the group. She had light brown hair and big cheerful eyes. She was just a little taller than Hunk and looked like a part time body builder. She smiled and waved shyly towards Keith and Lance.

Hunk came running around the front of the truck and introduced his passenger. “Hey guys, this is Shay. She’s, um, a friend from school,” he said without being very convincing. “I hope you don’t mind if she hangs out with us today.”

“The more the merrier! Hello, beautiful. I’m McClain. Lance McClain,” he said as he casually took Shay’s hand and kissed it making her blush.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s enough hand smooching,” Hunk quickly inserted himself between Lance and Shay. He gestured in Keith’s direction. “The frowny one over there in red is Keith.”

Shay waved and smiled at Keith before Hunk led her towards the back of the truck.

“Did you know he had a  _ friend _ ?” Keith asked Lance quietly.

Keith’s emphasis on the word friend did not go unnoticed. “Oh dude, you have no idea,” Lance responded and giggled quietly.

They made their way to the back of the truck and helped pull down different items. Pidge held out her arms as Hunk gently lowered a large drone into her hands. He then lowered down a lounge chair to her. The cooler of food was next so Keith and Lance grabbed that and carried it down to where Pidge was setting up her mini command center. As they set it down, Hunk and Shay came down the path each carrying a beach chair and some towels.

“I didn’t think about bringing a chair,” Keith said to no one in particular.

“I brought a big beach blanket. We can level out some sand and sit on that,” Lance volunteered. “Besides, I need to even out my tan lines a bit and sitting in a chair won’t work for that.”

Keith helped Lance level out a section of the beach a little ways back from the line of chairs and they laid out a large blanket on it. After setting rocks on the corners, they sat down on it. There was just enough room for them to sit side by side without touching each other. They set their towels down on the blanket and went up to join the group.

It was obvious that Shay was shy and Hunk had a major crush on her. He doted on every little word she said. Her gentle voice was oddly soothing as she talked to the group. She was a senior at Garrison High and on the women’s wrestling team. Her dream was to eventually become a geologist. She had met Hunk one day when her car was having an issue and she brought it in hoping the school’s mechanics could help. Hunk had repaired it in ten minutes and they’d been talking ever since.

“So, how long have you two been an item?” Lance blurted out causing Shay to blush.

“We’re not an item,” Hunk protested. He cocked his head in thought before finishing his response. “We just like each other’s company.”

“Right,” Keith said with a half grin. “Well, anyone up for some water time? We’re at the beach, might as well enjoy the ocean.” He stood up and stripped off his t-shirt tossing it back on the beach blanket. On his way by Lance, he purposely kicked up some sand at the sitting figure.

“Not nice, Mullet!” Lance yelled as he pulled off his tank top and ran after Keith.

Hunk laughed as he took off his shirt and held out his hand to Shay. “Would you care for a swim?” he asked while bowing forward.

Shay took his hand and stood up. She pulled her cover up over her head revealing a black one piece swimsuit that accentuated her toned muscles and showed off her curves. 

“Put your tongue back in your mouth and pick your jaw up off the beach.” Came the voice of a gremlin behind Hunk. Pidge smiled at Shay from her chair.

Hunk blushed and gave Pidge the meanest stare he could muster. It looked more like he’d just eaten some sour candy than any semblance of mean. He turned around and walked with Shay towards the water.

Keith was in the ocean with the water halfway up his thighs when Lance came barreling up behind him. He was unprepared for the impact and Lance caused them both to go face down into the water as he tackled Keith. When they came up, Lance was lecturing him with his arms crossed.

“That will teach you to kick sand at me,” he admonished Keith. Lance was unprepared for the wave of water that Keith flung towards his face. “Now you’re asking for it,” Lance yelled as he launched a wave of his own at Keith.

Shay and Hunk waded up close to the splashfest and laughed at the two flinging water at each other.

“How about a game of chicken?” Shay asked the group.

Keith and Lance stopped splashing long enough to listen. It was obvious with the differing sizes amongst the individuals that Shay and Hunk would be the bases and Keith and Lance would be on top.

“I get Hunk!” Keith yelled and swam over towards Hunk. He got behind the big guy and scrambled up onto his shoulders.

Lance bounced his way to Shay and she ducked down so he could get on her shoulders. When she stood up, their team was taller than the Hunk/Keith combo. Lance had an advantage with his longer arms as well.

As the two teams got closer together, Pidge’s drone flew overhead. “Round one, fight!” she yelled over the drone’s speaker as it recorded the match.

Lance and Keith reached out towards each other and Lance’s longer arms started pushing him backwards before Keith’s shorter arms could even make contact. 

“Move closer!” Keith yelled to Hunk and they closed the distance.

Once the space between them was shortened, Lance didn’t have as much of an advantage. They both had their hands on each other’s shoulders trying to push the opponent off their perch. Their faces alternated between grimacing with effort and laughing. After tugging back and forth for a while, Shay charged towards Hunk. Lance used the momentum to shove at Keith, but just as Keith started going backwards he grabbed Lance’s arms and pulled him along. They both ended up splashing into the water and Pidge’s drone announced the match as a tie.

They all walked out of the water laughing and went up towards the little camp they’d made. Everyone grabbed a sandwich out of the cooler and munched down their food. Pidge ate with one hand while she piloted the drone up and down the beach. Shay looked over her shoulder and they discussed the level of beach erosion and rock formations showing up on the drone’s control screen.

After the food was gone, they divided up into groups. Hunk and Shay started walking down the beach. They stayed close to each other, but there wasn’t any hand-holding or physical contact. Pidge rerouted her drone behind the beach to map out the forest that came up nearly to the edge of the sand. Keith and Lance wandered back to the beach blanket and Keith sat down. He rolled his towel up into a pillow and leaned his head back on it. 

“Those two make a cute couple,” Keith mentioned to Lance as the back of his head hit the rolled up towel.

“Hunk won’t admit they’re a couple until he puts a ring on her finger,” Lance said as he untied the laces on his board shorts and hooked his thumbs in the waistband.

“Woah, hold up there McClain,” Keith said as he scrambled up onto his elbows. “I know you want to even out your tan, but this isn’t a nude beach.”

Lance stuck his tongue out at Keith. “Duh. Thanks for the heads up genius,” he said as he yanked his board shorts down.

Lance was wearing a blue Speedo underneath his board shorts. Keith wasn’t sure whether he should laugh or stare. He could clearly see the tan lines where Lance’s jammer style swim team suit shielded his skin from the sun. Lance’s skin wasn’t white by any means, but there was definitely a difference in color. The Speedo exposed that lighter skin to the sun. Lance’s Speedo didn’t leave much else to the imagination either.

“See? I come prepared,” Lance said as he rolled his towel up. “You should balance out your tan too. I’m sure you’ve got the same tan lines I do.”

“I’m sure I do, but I’m not going to lay out in something like that to even things out.”

“What’s wrong with this?” Lance asked as he turned around in front of Keith. “Admit it, I look good in this.”

“We are not going to discuss the merits of you wearing a Speedo, Lance.” In his head, Keith agreed with Lance’s assessment. “Hurry up and lay down before I start laughing.”

Lance took his rolled up towel and laid down on the blanket next to Keith. “You’re just jealous. I’ll get you a little red Speedo before we go to the beach next time.”

“Don’t even think about it,” Keith said as he turned onto his stomach and tugged the bottom of his board shorts up his thighs a bit to expose skin that was usually under his swim team suit. “I’ll settle for a little more modesty than you.”

Lance snorted once and closed his eyes as the warm sun coaxed him into a nap.

\------

Keith woke up slowly. The warm sun, exercise, and food had completely relaxed him. He felt some pressure on his hips and something warm on his back. He let out a little comfortable sigh before he looked over his shoulder to identify the source of the sensation.

Lance was kneeling over Keith’s lower back. His hands were moving in circles rubbing sunscreen from Keith’s shoulders down his back.

Keith was too relaxed to push Lance off him. He settled for a verbal inquiry instead. “What are you doing?”

“I woke up and your back was getting a little pink. Even though red is your favorite color, I didn’t think you wanted your back to match your shorts. So, I got out the sunscreen. You’re welcome.”

Keith wanted to protest further, but Lance’s hands were running up and down his back. They’d circle his shoulder blades and then slide down to just above his waistband. It felt good. It felt too good. He was just about to ask Lance to stop when Lance rubbed the last of the sunscreen in and stood up.

Lance laid down on his stomach and held out the sunscreen towards Keith. “Ok, my turn. Make sure and get everything evenly coated and don’t you dare spell out any words either.”

“In a minute,” Keith said. He couldn’t exactly get up at the moment. Lance’s hands had more of a stimulating effect than he realized. 

“You better not fall asleep again before you put some on me,” Lance said oblivious to Keith’s discomfort.

Hunk came walking up and sat down next to the beach blanket. “Sorry guys, I need to take Shay home. Her mom needs her help moving in some furniture they just bought. Can you help me load up the truck?” He giggled. “Nice Speedos, Lance.”

Lance lifted himself up on his elbows, grabbed his board shorts, and stood up. “Sure, we’ll get you loaded up. That’s probably enough sun for today anyway. Keith was starting to turn pink.” He pulled on his shorts and walked with Hunk towards the beach chairs.

Keith rolled over and made sure his swimsuit laid flat in the front before getting up. He went down and helped them load up the cooler and all the chairs.

“I’ll take Shay home and help them move the furniture if you can drop Pidge home,” Hunk said to Lance.

“Not a problem, I’ll take these two home and we’ll see you tomorrow at school,” Lance said as he pointed at Keith and Pidge.

Hunk’s truck pulled out as they finished folding up the blanket and packing the towels in the car. Pidge sat in back and Keith took his usual spot in the passenger seat.

“That was a very relaxing day,” Lance said as they drove away from the beach.

“I mapped out high resolution pics of the entire beachfront and most of the forest,” Pidge chimed in. “It was a very productive day.”

Lance took Keith home first. Keith got out, thanked Lance for driving, and waved to them as they left his driveway. He went inside to shower off the sunscreen and sand.

Pidge moved up into the passenger seat. As soon as they were out of the driveway, Lance started talking to Pidge.

“So, Haxus is following Keith in a black car,” he informed her.

“Who is Haxus?” Pidge asked innocently enough.

Lance explained the incident on Arus when Sendak and Haxus broke into the Castle and his theory that Haxus was part of the Galra swim team spying on Keith.

“Whatever the reason, it can’t be good. We’ll just have to keep a close eye on things and make sure they don’t do something to Keith,” Pidge reasoned.

“Yeah, but it gives me the creeps. If they’re as bad here as they are in the real world, it won’t end well,” Lance said as he pulled up to Pidge’s house. He almost asked if her dad and Matt were home, but decided against it. He had no idea what their status was in Keith’s brain fiction.

“See you tomorrow!” Pidge shouted as she carried her drone towards the house.

Lance drove off and headed home.


	11. Darkness Descends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith has a meltdown and goes running off. Lotor and a few of his friends find Keith before Lance does.

Chapter 11: Darkness Descends 

Lance was running a little late in the morning and slid into home room just as Coran was coming down the hall. He sat down in his seat just as the teacher entered the room. Coran took his place at the front of the room and started droning on about events of the day and informing the class that the reactor was successfully upgraded. Lance tuned him out and leaned back in his chair. He felt two hands start rubbing his shoulders. The gentle fingers weren’t trying to remove any knots, they were grazing and brushing in a way that could only be meant to stimulate his nerves. It worked.

Lance let out an audible moan before he realized it was happening. He snapped his eyes open and leaned forward just as Coran turned in his direction scowling. Lance smiled and waved to the teacher and then turned around to give Nyma a quick wink. As soon as the period ended, he bolted out the door to avoid a lecture on appropriate behavior from Coran.

Keith was in a remarkably good mood for a Wednesday. His morning classes breezed by without any frustration and he’d really enjoyed yesterday’s beach adventure with his friends. Keith wasn’t a very social person, but he felt comfortable with that group. Maybe a little too comfortable around Lance. He couldn’t explain why, but he felt more connected with Lance than he should for someone he met less than a month ago. He felt bad about his initial behavior toward him. Lately, he found himself laughing more at the other’s dorky antics rather than getting upset. In a weird way, it felt like they’d known each other a lot longer. Keith knew his judgement was being clouded. He officially had a crush on Lance. Something about his personality was addicting. Keith actually missed Lance when he wasn’t around. He needed to get it under control though. The sunscreen incident yesterday pushed Keith out of his comfort zone. Not only was Lance on his mind, but Keith had a physical reaction to his touch yesterday. He just needed to bury his feelings and move on with life. It wasn’t like Lance was interested in him. He tucked the thought away for another time and made his way to the cafeteria.

\------

The lunch menu sounded good, but the actual meal fell flat yet again. The display said ‘Spaghetti and Meatballs’ as the entrée with cheesecake as dessert. Lance stared at the pile of noodles on his tray as he sat down to the table across from Keith.

“The noodles are so overcooked that they’re melting in with the sauce,” Lance said as he poked his food.

“I find the fact that you were expecting better to be somewhat comical,” Pidge said as she laughed.

“Good point. I think Hunk is spoiling me for food choices,” Lance said as he looked up toward Hunk. “So, are you going to ask Shay to date?”

Hunk was caught off guard by the blunt question. “What? No. I mean.. This food is delicious.”

Keith laughed and went on the offensive with Lance. “You two made a really cute couple out there. I saw you holding hands on the way back from your beach walk.”

Hunk was the same color as the spaghetti sauce. “I was just helping her walk over the rocks. We weren’t holding hands to hold hands. Lay off guys. She’s just a friend.”

“No. She is not just a friend,” Lance locked eyes with Hunk. “You two like each other. Neither of you will admit it openly because you’re both adorably shy and can’t imagine that the other is interested in you. We can all see it. You know it deep down. Just ask her.” Lance’s tone changed to something more melancholy and he went back to poking his food. “You never know when the opportunity will be gone. You might miss your chance to really be happy with someone.” 

The whole table stared at Lance in silence. Hunk was trying to process his thoughts and emotions. Pidge had her lips pursed and was nodding in impressed agreement. Keith suddenly felt sorry for Lance. Something about what Lance said felt genuine. Like he’d missed an opportunity and regretted it. For some reason, Keith pictured Lance on his knees pounding on a glass window as he cried. His thoughts were interrupted by a whirlwind of motion and noise as two cheerleaders approached their table.

Florona and Nyma came up behind Lance. They were giggling and talking at twice the required volume level for the cafeteria. 

“Hello, Lance,” Nyma said in a sultry manner.

Lance turned around and smiled at the two women. “Well hello, Nyma. How is your day going?” he said in a jovial tone.

“Better now that I’ve run into you. Who’s your cute friend?” she asked as she smiled across the table at Keith.

Lance stood up and pulled the two chairs between him and Keith out for the girls. He motioned them to sit and then pointed across the table.

“That broody fellow is the swim team captain, Keith Kogane,” he said as he sat back down and smiled at the two girls.

Florona’s chair was right next to Keith and she turned to face him. “Team captain, huh? I heard the swim team is going to be absolutely amazing this year. As the captain, I’m betting you’re the best of the team.”

Keith forced a slight smile as he answered. “The whole team is good. Even Lance.”

Nyma scooted her chair closer to Lance and nonchalantly placed her hand on his thigh. “I’ve heard Lance is good at a lot of things.”

Lance winked at the two girls. “I’m good at almost everything. Keith is definitely the better swimmer though.”

“I bet you look sexy in your swimsuit,” Florona said coyly to Keith.

Keith felt himself getting uncomfortable with the situation. He wasn’t a fan of sudden social interaction with strangers and really wasn’t interested in Florona’s blatant advances.

“His swimming beats mine, but I definitely look better in a swimsuit,” Lance tossed out. He could tell Keith was getting uncomfortable with the attention from Florona and tried to draw her attention away from him. He reached over and tapped her arm in a friendly way. “You two need to come to a swim practice and you can see how good the whole team is.”

Florona picked up on Keith’s lack of interest and got up. “Nyma, I’ll go grab us a piece of cheesecake to share. I’ll meet you back at our table. Nice meeting you Keith,” she said with artificial pleasantness as she walked away.

Nyma leaned in closer to Lance. “So, when do I get that private swimming lesson?” she said as her hand move up his thigh.

Keith felt his mood go from annoyed to pissed. Watching her paw at Lance bothered him. Seeing how Lance flirted back did not help the situation.

“I told you, stop by the pool one of these days after practice. I’ll be happy to teach you a few things,” Lance said as he smiled.

Nyma moved in even closer towards Lance and spoke quietly into his ear. “I was hoping for something a little more private. Like a late night swim in the pool. Just the two of us,” she said as her hand moved up another few inches on Lance’s leg.

Nyma’s hand was now brushing something other than Lance’s leg. He grabbed her arm gently and pulled her hand away. Lance was just about to tell her he wasn’t interested when Keith’s abruptly stood up.

Keith had seen enough. He pushed his chair back as he stood up. Grabbing his tray, he made his way toward the exit.

Lance detangled himself from Nyma. “Excuse me for a minute,” he said as he got up and followed Keith.

Keith had set his tray on the return and was on his way out the door when he felt someone grab his forearm.

“Keith, what’s wrong?” Lance asked as he tugged on Keith’s arm.

“Nothing. I just need some alone time. Why don’t you go back and play with Nyma?” he snapped and yanked his arm away from Lance. 

Lance watched Keith go through the exit with a look of confusion on his face. He wandered back to the table and sat down.

“Is he ok?” Nyma asked. “Was it something I said?”

Lance sighed. “No, no. You’re fine,” he said with a forced smile. “He’s just under a lot of stress being the team captain and all. Why don’t you head back to Florona and I’ll see you later?”

“Sounds good. We need to plan that swimming lesson soon.” Nyma smiled and got up to go join Florona across the cafeteria.

“What was that?” Pidge asked once Nyma was gone.

“They’re a couple of cheerleaders from my home room. I didn’t realize Nyma was that into me,” Lance said as he pushed his tray away from him.

“Really? It kind of looked like you two were going to go at it right here in the middle of the cafeteria,” Pidge said with a frown.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Lance said incredulously. “I was just trying to be nice.”

“That was way more than nice. You don’t have to flirt with every living being in the universe, Lance. Maybe just focus on the ones you actually care about,” Pidge advised. 

Lance scowled and sighed. “And what’s Keith’s problem? I got Florona to leave him alone. He was obviously not into her.”

Hunk and Pidge turned and looked at each other before fixing Lance with dual stares.

“He wasn’t mad about Florona. He was mad about Nyma,” Hunk said.

“Why would he be mad about Nyma? Sure she’s a little over the top, but she wasn’t bothering him,” Lance said in a confused tone.

“Wow,” Hunk said as he leaned forward towards Lance. “You don’t see it do you?”

Lance took a deep breath and exhaled. “Hunk, I’m not in the mood to play guessing games right now. What are you talking about?”

Pidge and Hunk shared one more look. An unasked question passed between them and Pidge nodded to Hunk.

“He’s mad because Nyma was all over you,” Hunk said. “He’s mad because you were flirting with her.”

Lance sat back and shook his head. “That doesn’t make any sense. Why would that piss him off?”

Hunk took a deep breath and tore into Lance. “Keith is into you, Lance. Don’t you see the way he stares at you? Do you notice how you’re one of the few people he smiles at? He even jokes with you. He doesn’t do that with anybody.”

Pidge jumped in before Lance could say anything. “Did you see how red his face got when you pulled his hand up to feel your skin the other day? Just that simple touch sent his repressed emotions into a tail spin.”

Lance leaned back in his chair. His brain was in overdrive trying to sort out what his two friends had said. Before he could reach any conclusions, the bell sounded the end of lunch period.

As he picked up his tray, Hunk put his hand on Lance’s shoulder. “Just talk to him. Don’t miss your chance to be happy,” he said using Lance’s own words.

Hunk was gone before Lance could say anything. He picked up his tray and wandered to the exit. He walked to physics on autopilot, his mind pouring over the last hour’s events. He sat down and closed his eyes.

The buzzer sounded as physics class began. Lance opened his eyes as he heard Professor Ryner start talking about some quantum theory. He looked over and noticed the desk next to him was empty. Keith’s desk was empty.

Lance sat up straight and looked around the room. There was no sign of Keith anywhere in the classroom. Being upset at Lance was one thing, but skipping class over it? Lance sat back in his chair. There wasn’t much he could do about it right now. He’d have to find him after class.

\------

Keith unchained his bike and hopped on. He twisted the throttle all the way open and zipped out of the school lot. He had no idea where he was going or why. He just needed to get away from everything, especially Lance. Keith knew his crush on Lance was going to cause problems, but seeing Nyma feel him up and the way Lance flirted back was just too much. He pounded the handlebar with his hand. He knew he was being irrational, but he let his emotions take control for now. He just needed some time alone.

He turned onto the road and decided to head for the beach. Maybe the ocean would calm his nerves. Plus, the beach was as far away as you could get from everything in New Meridian.

\------

Lotor yawned as the teacher droned on about the chemical formula for transparent aluminum. He was well above this academic level. His father insisted that he stay in the appropriate class to appear as though they were a normal family. Lotor chuckled to himself. Normal except for a power hungry father figure and his manipulative genius son.

The door to the classroom opened and the teacher stopped his lecture. “Can I help you?” he asked the interloper.

“Sorry, I need to speak with Lotor for a moment,” Haxus said from the doorway.

Lotor rolled his eyes and got up. “My apologies. I’ll be back in a moment.” He made his way out of the classroom and closed the door behind him. “This better be good,” he snarled at Haxus.

“Keith Kogane left school unexpectedly. The tracker on his bike shows him heading towards the ocean. He’s likely heading towards Beach Park. It appears that he’s skipping class for some reason,” Haxus explained.

Lotor considered all the possible reasons for the sudden departure. Today was when the two women he’d blackmailed should have made their move on Keith and Lance. He figured Florona’s attempt to get close to Keith would fail. That was more a test to prove what Lotor already suspected about Keith. How could it have failed in such a way to make him leave school? Did Nyma’s interactions with Lance cause this? Regardless, this was an opportunity.

“I will inform Haggar that we won’t be at swim practice today. As soon as this class is over, we’ll gather a few of the team and join Keith at the beach,” Lotor said as a smile crawled up his face.

\------

Keith pulled into Beach Park and propped his bike up against one of the trees at the back side of the parking lot. He walked down the path and climbed up one of the large rocks that dotted the coastline. He sat down and looked out to the sea. The noise of the ocean washed over him as he tried to calm himself. The ride here cleared his head a bit and his angry outburst seemed somewhat childish now. Lance had no obligation to him and was free to flirt with, or date, whoever he wanted. Lance’s actions with Nyma had hit a nerve that Keith didn’t realize was exposed. He was used to keeping himself isolated socially and emotionally. Lance had slowly been chipping away at that isolation. Keith owed Lance an apology for snapping at him, but he would have to push Lance away a bit to make sure this didn’t happen again. He closed his eyes and let the crashing of the waves comfort him. 

\------

As soon as physics was over, Lance ran out into the hall and towards Keith’s locker. He didn’t see Keith in the halls or near his locker. Lance jogged to the pool locker rooms next. The bell had already sounded and the team was probably out by the pool. He went inside and down towards Keith’s isolated locker area. The swimsuit hanging in the locker meant that Keith hadn’t been here yet. Lance ran out to the pool. He grabbed Shiro by the arm and pulled him away from the rest of the team. Lance was panting from running all over the school as he rapidly tried to explain what was going on to Shiro. 

“Back up, Lance. He ran out of lunch in an angry fit and then skipped his next class?” Shiro asked.

“Yes, and now he’s not here either.” Lance tried to control the panic in his voice. “This isn’t like him. I’m worried.”

“Keith usually keeps things bottled up and he’s had things under control. It’s been awhile since he lost control like this. What caused his outburst?”

Lance sighed and looked down. “Long story, but I think it was my fault. I need to find him.”

Shiro scowled and put his hand on Lance’s shoulder. “Ok. You’re excused from practice. Go look for him.”

Lance didn’t wait to hear anymore. He ran towards the pool gate and out to his car. As soon as he got in, he pulled his phone out and tried to call Keith. No answer. Either he was out of range or had his phone shut off. Lance started the car and drove toward Keith’s house.

\------

Keith had managed to calm himself down and was about ready to head back and apologize to everyone. As he was getting up, he heard engine noise behind him. He stood up and looked up at the parking lot. A large blue truck and a two person hoverbike were pulling in.

Lotor landed his hoverbike and stepped off towards the truck. He leaned into the window and addressed the three Galra swimmers. “Remember, treat him just like he’s one of our team. He’s our friend.”

Haxus and the other two swimmers nodded. They all got out of the truck, grabbed a cooler from the back, and made their way down to the beach.

Lotor arrived on the beach and waved over at Keith. He walked toward the rock and smiled up at his prey.

“Keith! I didn’t expect anyone to be at the beach during school. Haggar cancelled practice today so we figured we’d spend some time at the ocean,” Lotor lied.

Keith hopped down from the rock and walked over to Lotor. “It’s all yours. I was just heading back. I just needed to clear my head.”

Lotor shook his head. “Nonsense. You might as well hang out with us for a bit. If only for the spirit of interschool relations,” he said with a believable laugh. “We’ve got some food too. Come on, sit with us for a bit.”

Keith knew he should get back and talk to his friends, but he’d been gone all afternoon. Another hour probably wouldn’t matter. Besides, if Lance was going to hang out with Nyma, why couldn’t he hang out with Lotor? “Just for a while. I have to head out before the sun starts going down.”

“I saw the solar panels on your bike. An interesting mode of transportation. If you get stranded, I’ll give you a ride home on my hoverbike,” Lotor volunteered.

They made their way over to the other three and all of them greeted Keith like he was one of their own. Everyone sat down on one of the smaller rocks and Haxus got some sandwiches out of the cooler. He handed them out to everyone as they talked about swimming. The discussion ranged from best heats to worst mistakes. 

“There was one time, I swear I heard the buzzer. I swam one length of the pool before I heard people yelling ‘false start’ at me. I thought Haggar was going to kick my ass when I got out of the water!” Lotor laughed.

Keith found himself enjoying the company. The Galra team wasn’t a bad group. Haxus had started telling a story when Keith felt something brush his foot. He looked down and the side of Lotor’s bare foot was laying against his.

“So where’d you get the solar paneled bike?” Lotor asked after everyone was done eating.

Keith laughed. “Well, it used to be a normal bike, but a friend made some modifications.”

“Mind if I look?”

“Not at all. Hunk would be proud of me showing off his work,” Keith said as he got up. Lotor followed him up the trail to the parking lot and over to the bike.

Lotor looked over the panels and the motor casing. “Interesting design. I see why you can’t stay past dark though. The battery size in there won’t be enough to power you back to the city without the sun.”

Keith furrowed his brow. “You figured all that out just by looking at it?”

Lotor smiled. “I’m not just a dumb jock, Keith. I actually take a few college courses already. Your friend is very skilled.”

“Yes he is,” Keith said as he smiled back. “What about your ride? I haven’t seen a hoverbike like that before.”

Lotor walked over to his hoverbike and leaned against it. “That’s because it hasn’t been released yet. This is a prototype from the factory. My father has an interest in their business so I get to test out new models sometimes. Apparently, I really put them to the test,” he laughed. 

“That’s quite the bike. The quad fans with backup thrusters for quick takeoff and speed. The hidden gyro stabilizers inside the frame.” Keith ran his hands down the side of the hoverbike. He noticed the color changing as the sunlight hit it. What he thought was black, was really a deep purple that only showed in direct sunlight.

“Want to go for a ride?” Lotor asked him.

“Really? Sure,” Keith said excitedly.

Lotor climbed into the driver seat and held out his arm to pull Keith up behind him. Once Keith was seated, he started the engine. The hoverbike flared to life as the fan blades spun up and the thrusters gave them their initial lift.

Lotor turned his head back toward Keith. “Put your arms around me and hold tight,” he said as the bike moved forward and made its way gracefully down to the beach.

Keith leaned against Lotor’s back and wrapped his arms around the pilot’s waist. He watched as the ground moved underneath them. The bike rolled to the side and the nose pitched upward. The rush of flight felt good to Keith. It was like he’d been missing this even though it was his first time on a flying vehicle. 

Lotor piloted out over the ocean and faced the the beach. “We’re going to run up the coast for a bit. We’ll be back,” he yelled to the three on the beach. He turned the nose up the coastline and kicked in the thrusters.

\------

Lance arrived at Keith’s house and ran in the front door. He lept over the couch and ran down the hall to check the bedroom and bathroom. Keith was nowhere to be found. Lance was really beginning to worry as he jumped back in the car. He called Hunk and Pidge. Both of their phones were still off since school wasn’t out yet. He left them both a message to call him back as soon as they heard it.

“Come on, Keith. Where would you go?” he wondered aloud. Lance thought for a minute. “You’d want to get away from everyone. What is the farthest you can go in this mental bubble of yours?” Then it dawned on Lance. “The beach. Far and secluded.”

He started the car and backed out of the driveway. The engine may have been quiet now, but the tires squealed as he shifted gears and changed direction toward the beach.

\------

Lotor flew the hoverbike up the beach. He hugged the sand causing it to spray underneath the bike. When he came to a couple larger rock formations, he pitched the nose up and accelerated. Diving down on the backside, he’d dip the tail and level off. He knew Keith was feeling an adrenaline rush. He turned the bike around and lowered it on a secluded section of the beach. Two rock formations on either side of the beach with ocean and forest on the other sides making it an isolated oasis.

Keith reluctantly let go of Lotor and hopped down. “That was amazing,” he said while catching his breath.

Lotor climbed down from the hoverbike. “I get a rush from flying and swimming. Slicing through the air or water is like bending nature to my will. It’s exhilarating to say the least.” He turned around and lifted up the seat revealing a storage compartment. He reached in and tossed a beer over to Keith.

Keith caught the container and shook his head. “Thanks, but it’s against team rules and I’m only 18.”

Lotor waved off Keith’s comments. “It’s against our rules too. We’re alone here.” Lotor smiled reassuringly as he opened his container and took a drink. “I won’t tell if you don’t,” he said and moved to sit on an outcropping of rock.

Keith gave in and opened the container. He took a drink and walked back over to the rock. He sat down next to Lotor.

Lotor took another drink and turned to Keith. “Would you ever consider switching schools? I think you’d make a great addition to the Galra team. I could use a co-captain with your skill level. My father is the mayor so we could make it happen if you want.”

Keith looked down at the sand and shook his head. “No. I owe Shiro a lot. He helped me get some anger issues under control and made me the swimmer I am today. I appreciate the offer though.”

“I figured as much, but thought it would be worth asking. You’re going to be quite the competition.” he held up his drink and toasted Keith. Lotor wondered how long it would be before the drugs in Keith’s drink took effect. Keith’s body was in prime condition so he estimated a gradual increase in effect over the next hour. He was looking forward to seeing how Keith behaved with lowered inhibitions.


	12. True Intentions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor manipulates Keith as Lance tries to find him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***WARNING***  
> Things get a little dark in this chapter. Lotor is not a nice person.

Chapter 12: True Intentions

Lance’s phone rang and he hit the hands free mode. Hunk’s voice came over the car’s speakers.

“We just got out of school. Have you found him yet?” he asked with concern in his voice.

“No,” Lance answered bluntly. “I checked his house and it’s empty. I’m on my way to the beach. He might have gone there to calm down or to get away from me. Is there any other place you can think of?”

Hunk was silent for a second. “Maybe he went to one of the parks in town. We’ll check those and keep you updated. Let us know if you find him.”

“I will. Good luck,” Lance said and hung up the phone.

\------

Lotor finished his drink and hopped off the rock. He subtly held his phone upside down in his hand and took a few pictures of Keith sitting on the rock holding an alcoholic beverage as he walked back to the hoverbike.

Keith finished his and hopped down. He walked over to Lotor and handed him the empty container. Lotor opened the seat and set the empty containers inside. He pulled out a towel.

“You up for a swim?” Lotor asked Keith.

Keith laughed. “Here? Now? Don’t we need to head back to your friends?”

Lotor stripped off his shirt and tossed it on the bike. He pulled his hair back so it rested behind his shoulders. “They’ll be fine. The water is always nice and warm in this cove.”

Keith stared at Lotor’s body and took a deep breath. His toned muscles mirrored Keith’s own definition. Lotor’s six pack ended just above his low riding board shorts. “I don’t have a swimsuit with me,” Keith gestured at his jeans.

Lotor pleaded with Keith. “Please? You can go in your underwear. We’re both guys. No one will see us here.” He started taking steps backward toward the ocean gesturing for Keith to follow.

Keith debated in his mind. He looked around at the trees up the beach and the rock faces on the other sides of the little cove. He grinned and pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it on the bike. He unfastened his jeans and stepped out of them. They joined the shirt on the hoverbike and Keith stood there in his red boxer briefs. Keith ran towards the water.

Lotor smiled and turned around as he waded into the warm water. He lowered himself down dunking his hair in the water as Keith splashed in next to him.

“You’re right, this water is warmer than up the beach,” Keith commented as he ducked his head under the water and came back up.

Lotor stood up and pulled his wet hair behind him. The water level was just above the waistband of his board shorts. 

Keith stood up and shook the water out of his hair. He looked over at Lotor. The water was shining on his chest in the sunlight and his hair was pulled back tight against his skull. Keith felt warm.

“I saw you staring at me that first day you visited the Galra pool,” Lotor said to Keith as he smiled.

“I’m not sure what you mean. I watched the whole team swim during that practice,” Keith said weakly.

“I saw you in the stands. I knew you were looking at me,” Lotor said as he took a couple steps in the water.

Keith was feeling really warm and his heart was beating faster than usual. Lotor was right. He had been staring at the white haired swimmer pretty intently that first day. Lotor stirred something primal in Keith. “Maybe,” he muttered quietly.

Lotor smiled and closed the distance between them. He raised his arm and put his finger in the middle of Keith’s chest. He slowly dragged the finger downward until it hitched on the front of Keith’s underwear. “It’s ok. I was looking at you too. Out of all those Garrison swimmers, you were the one I noticed,” Lotor said truthfully.

Keith closed his eyes as Lotor ran his finger down his chest. A tiny distant voice in the back of his head was trying to warn him this was very wrong. Keith sensed the voice was trying to protect him, but his brain was falling prey to the drugs in his system. He couldn’t think straight at the moment. The voice in his head growled as it faded away when he looked into Lotor’s eyes.

Lotor dipped his finger into the waistband of Keith’s underwear and gently pulled him forward until their chests were pressed together. He leaned in next to Keith’s head and whispered in his ear. “I know you want this as much as I do.”

Keith sighed as he felt Lotor’s hands slide down his back and rest at his waist. Every contact with his skin sent waves of electricity through Keith’s body.

Lotor leaned back and looked into Keith’s eyes. He smiled slowly and moved his head toward Keith. His hands slid down inside the back of Keith’s underwear and he pressed their lips together. He felt Keith’s lips melt against his.

Keith’s higher brain functions were shutting down. His normally controlled desires were taking over his thoughts. He had no idea the drugs Lotor slipped him were helping focus his lust and lower his inhibitions. When he felt Lotor’s lips against his, it was like a dam of emotions broke open. He pressed back and relished the sensations.

After a few seconds, Lotor leaned back and broke the kiss. He smiled and withdrew his hands from Keith’s underwear. “Come on. Let’s get out of the water,” he said seductively and grabbed Keith’s arm, pulling him along.

They made their way out of the ocean and up to the side of the hoverbike. Lotor grabbed the towel he’d gotten out earlier and wrapped it around his neck. He took something that was underneath the towel and subtly tucked it into the back of his swimsuit waistband as he turned back to Keith.

Keith felt Lotor come up behind him and put his hands on Keith’s hips. He smiled and leaned his head back onto Lotor’s shoulder as he felt gentle kisses move up from his shoulder to his neck. When Lotor’s hands moved down from his hips to the front of his underwear, Keith moaned.

“Do I really excite you this much?” Lotor whispered in Keith’s ear as he ran his hand over the front of Keith’s boxer briefs. He gently gripped Keith through the briefs with one hand and rubbed his chest with the other.

The sensations were too much and Keith felt his knees begin to buckle. He’d never had this much physical stimulation and the drugs were magnifying the effect on his body. He felt Lotor’s arm wrapped around his stomach to help keep him supported.

“Careful now, don’t go collapsing on me,” Lotor said as he moved both hands back to Keith’s hips. He moved them both forward up the beach to the tree line. He maneuvered them to a tree with thick low hanging branches. Lotor spun Keith around and pressed him against the tree. He put his hands on Keith’s waist and pressed their bodies together.

Keith was the one who moved his head forward and initiated the kiss this time. Acting like a hungry animal seeking its next meal, he bit Lotor’s lip gently as they made contact. His body began to falter when Lotor’s hand moved to the front of his shorts again. 

Lotor withdrew his hands from Keith and reached back to pull the hidden item from the back of his shorts. He grabbed Keith’s arms and lifted them up, pinning them above the low hanging branch to support Keith. When Lotor withdrew his arms, Keith’s hands were still pinned above him. 

Lotor broke the kiss and took a step back. “I am going to enjoy this,” he said as he smiled at Keith. It wasn’t the warm smile he’d been using. It was a cold, calculating smile. “I actually wish you would have accepted the offer of transferring schools. We could have had an amazing relationship in and out of the water.”

Keith pulled at his hands, but they wouldn’t come off the branch. He looked up and saw the handcuffs on his wrists. The energy string between them was draped over the thick branch. He tugged at the cuffs in confusion, but the were firmly fastened on his wrists.

Lotor wandered back to the hoverbike and got his phone. He opened it and took a few pictures of Keith suspended against the tree. 

“What are you doing?” Keith managed to ask as his drug addled brain tried to make sense of the situation.

“Why, having fun of course,” Lotor said with cruel glee. “I already have a pic of you drinking alcohol. That’s enough to get you tossed off the team or suspended from school.” He walked up and pulled back the waistband of Keith’s underwear. He took a few pics inside the boxer briefs before letting the waistband harshly snap back in place. “I don’t want you suspended Keith. I want you to throw a few meets. Get a few bad times. Basically, I want you to do exactly what I say.”

Keith’s lust was rapidly giving way to anger. “Why would I do that?” he spit at his captor.

Lotor took a few more pics of the restrained Keith with his wet hair and underwear clinging to his body. “Your team won’t have any respect for you once they see all the pics we’ll take today. You’ll be whispered about in the halls and none of them will look you in the eye at the pool again.” He walked up and used the towel around his neck to blindfold Keith. “It’s so much more fun when you don’t know what’s coming next, don’t you think?” Lotor said as he gripped Keith through the front of his shorts again.

“Stop. Please stop,” Keith begged as his body reacted against his will. He heard Lotor laugh.

“Oh, Keith. We’re just getting started,” his voice dripping with poison. “It’s time to make the alpha a submissive little beta.”

\------

Lance pulled into the parking lot above the beach. He saw the blue truck in the lot and parked behind it. As he got out, he noticed Keith’s bike leaning up against a tree at the back of the lot. He pulled out his phone and called Hunk.

“I found his bike. It’s at the parking lot by the beach,” Lance informed Hunk as soon as he answered.

“Do you see him?” Hunk asked.

“No. I just pulled in. It looks like someone else is here. I’ll go ask if they’ve seen him. Maybe you two could head this way? I’m not sure he’ll want to talk to me alone,” Lance said quietly.

“We’re on our way,” Hunk said and hung up.

Lance started to make his way toward the beach. As he walked down the path, he saw three people. Two of them were playing frisbee further up the beach and the third was sitting on a rock. Lance walked up to the rock and waved.

“Hi! I was wondering if you’ve seen a friend of mine. His bike is up in the lot, but I didn’t see him down here. He’s a little shorter than me, black hair, probably looked unhappy. Any chance you or your friends have seen him?” Lance asked.

Haxus tossed the frisbee back to his teammate and noticed Lance standing beside the rock engaged in conversation with Prorok. “Shit,” he muttered and pulled out his phone.

\------

“Now we get to the good part,” Lotor said as he ran his finger from Keith’s chin down to his stomach. “I wonder how long you’ll be able to hold out before making a mess of yourself.” He curled his thumbs into the waistband of Keith’s underwear as his eyes narrowed. Just as he was about to remove the last shred of Keith’s dignity, his phone rang. Lotor let out a frustrated sigh as he removed his hands from Keith and answered. His face went from frustration to amusement.

“Really? Oh, that’s almost too good to be true. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Don’t do anything stupid,” he finished and hung up the phone.

“Looks like I have to leave you for a little while. Don’t worry though. I’ll be back soon and we can pick up right where we left off,” Lotor said over his shoulder as he walked to the hoverbike. He pulled on his shirt and hopped onto the seat.

Keith felt the sand kick up against his exposed skin as the hoverbike lifted up and flew off. He desperately tugged at the wrist restraints again, but they were too tight. He slumped back against the tree and waited.

\------

“He had dark hair?” Prorok innocently responded to Lance’s query. “I think I saw him earlier. Not sure where he went though.”

Lance sighed and was about to thank the stranger when got a better look at the distant frisbee tosser. He took a step back from the rock. If Haxus was here, these were probably Galra team members also. What were the odds they’d be in the same place Keith was? If Haxus was here, they’d probably followed him after he went running off.

“Where is he, Haxus?” Lance demanded as he started walking across the beach toward Haxus. “You’ve been following him around, now his bike is here and so are you. That’s just a little too coincidental.”

“He’s in good hands,” Haxus said snidely. “You should run along home now, Lance.”

Lance felt his temper flare. Haxus had basically admitted that they had done something to Keith. He looked around. One versus three was not good odds, but it didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to let them hurt Keith. 

“I’m not asking again. Where is he?” Lance said with conviction. He took another step to close the gap with Haxus when he was interrupted by the engines of a hoverbike.

The hoverbike coasted in and set down on the beach behind Haxus kicking up sand and ocean spray as it landed. Lance covered his face to block out the flying sand. When he lowered his arms, the pilot was already on the ground walking toward them.

Lance felt the color drain from his face and his stomach turn inside out. There was no mistaking it. The long white hair along with the sharp facial structures were too close of a match.

“Lotor,” Lance gasped and instinctively reached for his Bayard. Of course, it wasn’t there. Keith may not know who Lotor was in his fantasy world, but Lance did. This was the son of a bitch who ambushed Keith and caused his team so much grief.

“Lance McClain, I’ve heard so many good things about you,” Lotor said with a smile as he strode over to where Haxus was standing. “What brings you down to the beach today?”

Lance took a deep breath and regained his composure. “Where is Keith?” he asked through clenched teeth.

The smile dropped from Lotor’s face and was replaced by something only a snake would find attractive. “He and I are having a little private time up the beach,” he said resulting in snickers and quiet laughs from the other three Galra teammates. “I don’t think he’d want you interrupting our fun.”

Lance took another step forward. “If you hurt him…”

Lotor cut Lance off with a vicious laugh. “You’ll what? Keith has already given up. If you could see the look of defeat in his eyes, you’d understand.” He grabbed his phone and started scrolling through pictures. “Oh, my bad. You can’t see his eyes in the pics,” he said with mock disappointment as he held the phone out towards Lance.

Lance looked at the screen. He saw Keith blindfolded and tied to a tree. All he was wearing was his red boxer briefs and they looked soaked as they clung tightly to his body. He looked miserable and vulnerable. 

Lance was moving before he even realized it. The roundhouse kick knocked the phone out of Lotor’s hand and onto the beach. Lance rebalanced and lunged forward throwing a left hook toward Lotor’s jaw. Unfortunately, Lotor deflected the blow and brought his fist into Lance’s stomach dropping him to the ground.

“And here I thought Keith was the team’s alpha,” Lotor said in an amused tone. “It seems I may have been mistaken. It appears there are two alphas.” He leaned down to look Lance in the eyes. “Maybe you’d like to watch while I finish playing with Keith. I think you might enjoy that, Lance.” 

The look in Lotor’s eyes and the tone of his voice pushed Lance over the edge. This may be Keith’s fantasy world, but Lance was still a Paladin of Voltron and Lotor was not going to win.

Lotor was caught off guard as Lance swung his fist upward connecting with his jaw. He was knocked backward as Lance sprung to his feet following with a knee to Lotor’s chin. Lotor fell on his back with blood dripping from his nose as Haxus rushed forward.

Lance rotated around and brought his elbow backwards hard into Haxus midsection. The sharp blow, combined with Haxus’ forward momentum, knocked the wind out of the Galra and he fell to his knees. Prorok and the other team member started approaching and Lance turned to face them. The odds weren’t in his favor, but he wasn’t going to give up.

Prorok growled and rushed forward on a collision course with Lance. His motion was suddenly halted as a drone rammed into the side of his head at high speed. Lance and the remaining Galra looked up the little hill to the parking lot. 

“Haaaaaaa!” came a bellowing battle cry as Hunk landed on the unsuspecting Galra swimmer flattening him to the ground. “That will teach you to mess with my friends.” Hunk said as he stood on top of the groaning attacker.

Lance smiled as Pidge came skidding down the incline from the parking lot. She ducked into a roll and popped into a sitting position as she leveled a taser toward Lance.

“Duck!” she yelled at Lance.

Lance lept forward onto his stomach as Pidge fired the taser at Haxus who had been about to tackle Lance from behind. He rolled onto his back in time to watch the twitching Galra collapse. Lance grinned and stood up.

“Even though I had this totally under control, I’m really glad to see you two,” Lance said to his friends with a smile. 

“Totally under control. Sure, Lance.” Hunk said with a grin.

Lance walked over and planted his foot in the middle of Lotor’s chest pressing him back on the ground. “Ok, now where were we? Oh yeah. Where the fuck is Keith?”

Lotor snarled up at Lance. “Up the beach at the cove. I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you.”

Lance reached down and picked up Lotor’s phone. He lowered it to Lotor. “Unlock the phone.”

Lotor sneered. “Go to hell, Lance.”

“Pidge, do you have another charge in the taser?” Lance asked over his shoulder.

“Two more, why?” she asked.

“Princess Lotor is feeling stubborn. I think he might need some shock therapy to make him more cooperative,” Lance said while he winked at Lotor.

Lotor ground his teeth together and reached out to unlock his phone. 

“See, that wasn’t so hard,” Lance said as he started looking through the pics. It looked like they hadn’t been uploaded to any server yet so Keith’s forced adventure was still private. Lance checked the GPS coordinates on one of the pics and brought up a map. He saw the cove Keith was in up the coast. Lance went back to scrolling through the pics. He swiped Keith’s ordeal in reverse order on the phone. Lance got to the pic Lotor took inside Keith’s underwear and quickly scrolled past it. A grin crept up at the corner of Lance’s mouth and he swiped back to it. “Impressive, Keith,” he mumbled to himself and swiped forward again. He passed by the pics of Keith and found some rather compromising images of Nyma and Florona. Lance glared down at Lotor and ground his foot harder. “You piece of shit.”

Lotor cracked a crooked grin. “Don’t be jealous, Lance. Nyma was all yours if you wanted her. She still is if you let me go.”

Lance resisted the urge to punch Lotor again. Instead, he scrolled back and deleted all pics of Keith off the phone. He stepped off Lotor and walked over to Pidge.

“Copy everything off this and then wipe the phone,” Lance whispered to her. “He’s going to pay for this.” He reached down and took the taser from Pidge and walked back to Lotor.

“Going to electrocute me now?” Lotor said with a sneer.

“Nope,” Lance said and cocked his head to the side. “Although, now that you mention it, that does sound fun.” He gestured for Lotor to get up and move to the hoverbike. “You’re going to transfer ownership of that to me. Then you and your cronies are going to leave.”

Lotor laughed. “Why would I do that?”

“Because kidnapping and blackmail are reasons to get you kicked off your team and expelled. Not to mention, likely prison time.” Lance leaned forward and an uncharacteristic sneer appeared on his face. “For some reason, I think you’d be really really popular in prison, Lotor.”

Lotor got up and unlocked the hoverbike with his thumbprints. He reluctantly approved the ownership transfer to Lance in the biometrics system and stepped away.

Lance hopped on the bike and tossed the taser back to Pidge. “I’m going to rescue Keith. Get these guys loaded in their truck and make sure they’re gone before I get back. I have a feeling Keith might not appreciate seeing Lotor again today.”

Hunk gave Lance a thumbs up as the hoverbike lifted off and flew up the beach.


	13. Rescued

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance rescues Keith from the beach. The drugs Lotor used on Keith have some residual effects so Lance watches Keith overnight.

Chapter 13: Rescued

Keith heard the hoverbike engine overhead and felt the sand hit his skin as it landed. The drugs were starting to filter out of his system and he was ready to resist Lotor any way he could. He listened carefully as Lotor got off the hoverbike and started walking over. The blindfold may have prevented Keith from seeing Lotor, but he could gage his position by the sound of his footsteps in the sand. Keith counted the steps and braced himself. He pulled down on his restraints and braced one foot against the tree. When Lotor was close enough to touch him again, Keith shoved forward off the tree and brought his other knee up hard between Lotor’s legs. The resulting sound of Lotor falling to the ground and groaning gave Keith a small sense of satisfaction.

The moaning was interrupted by a pained voice. “What is the matter with you!?”

Keith couldn’t believe his ears. “Lance?” he asked with a sliver of hope.

“Ow.” Was the only response from Keith’s visitor.

“Lance! Is that you?” Keith asked, desperately hoping his mind wasn’t playing games with him.

“You kicked me in the nuts!” Lance yelled at Keith as he rolled in the sand with his hands between his legs. “I’m here to rescue you. Why would you kick me in the balls?”

Despite everything that had happened, Keith couldn’t stop the smile that was creeping onto his face. “I thought you were Lotor, but you did kind of deserve it.”

Lance gingerly stood up and walked over to Keith. He reached up and took the makeshift blindfold off him. “I should just leave you here,” he said as he glared at Keith.

“I’m so glad to see you,” Keith said as tears welled in his eyes. “I thought you were Lotor again.”

“First you kick me, then you insult me. I am so much better looking than that jerk,” Lance said as he grinned at Keith.

Keith’s mind was trying to process everything, but was still hampered by the residual drugs in his system. He looked past Lance to the hoverbike. “How did you get Lotor’s hoverbike?” he asked in confusion.

Lance crossed his arms and cocked his head toward the hoverbike. “You mean  _ my _ hoverbike. I kicked his ass and made him transfer it to me.” He uncrossed his arms and turned back to Keith. “It’s actually an amazing ride.”

Keith looked down. “Yeah, he gave me a ride on it before...”

Lance stepped directly in front of Keith. “I saw the pics on his phone. Whatever happened here wasn’t your fault. The guy is a psychopath who enjoys manipulating people in cruel ways. Trust me, I know.”

“Oh god. The pics…” Keith moaned.

“They’re gone. He didn’t upload them anywhere and I’m the only one who saw them. After I deleted all of them, Pidge wiped his phone clean,” Lance explained.

The relief in Keith’s voice was evident. “Thanks, Lance. I owe you.” A scowl creased Keith’s forehead as he realized what that meant. “Wait, you looked at the pics?”

Lance started walking back to the hoverbike. “Yep.”

“All of them?” Keith asked innocently.

Lance dug around in the compartments under the seat and pulled out a small object. He turned and walked back up to Keith. He stared Keith in the eyes and smiled an ear to ear grin. “Yep.” He pulled out the small object he’d retrieved from the hoverbike. He held up the key to Keith’s restraints. “Ok, big boy. Let’s get you down from that tree.”

Keith rubbed his numb arms after Lance unlocked one of the cuffs. He got a little dizzy as the blood flowed back into his limbs and leaned against the tree. “I think he drugged me too.”

“He wanted you at his mercy. I’m just glad I got here when I did. Who knows what that psycho had in store for you.” Lance reached out and lifted Keith’s arm to unlock the other handcuff. He chuckled a little. “This reminds me of the time I was handcuffed to a tree. Someone thought it would be funny to leave me tied there. I don’t suppose you remember that by any chance?”

“I never heard about that. Sounds like the person was a real jerk,” Keith said as he pulled his wrist out of the restraint.

Lance smiled and shook his head. “I kind of deserved it. Let’s get back to the beach. Pidge and Hunk are worried about you too.” He walked over and climbed up onto the hoverbike.

Keith walked to the bike and jumped on behind Lance. “Hunk will lecture me for an hour,” he said with a tired voice.

“Um, before we go back, maybe you should put your clothes back on?” Lance said and giggled.

“Good idea,” Keith said and jumped down. After pulling his jeans and shirt on, he climbed back up and wrapped his arms around Lance.

Lance fired up the hoverbike and lifted off the ground. “Hang on tight!” He yelled and pulled out of the cove.

\------

Lance landed, shut down the engine, and hopped off the hoverbike. He reached back up and helped Keith down.

“You’re a really good pilot, Lance,” Keith said as his feet hit the ground.

Lance turned back to Keith. “Oh sure. You admit that here, but not there.”

“Where?” Keith asked completely confused.

“Never mind,” Lance said and stepped out of the way as Pidge ran up to hug Keith.

Keith nearly fell over as she wrapped her arms around his waist. “You run off like that again and I’ll kill you,” she said.

Keith wobbled a bit and Hunk put a hand on his shoulder to steady him. “You ok?” Hunk asked with concern.

“Lotor drugged him,” Lance explained. “I think he’s coming down off it. We should get him home.” He turned to Pidge. “Can you drive?”

Pidge pursed her lips together and glared at Lance. “Of course I can drive. And before you make some smartass comment, my feet do hit the pedals.”

Lance feigned a hurt expression. He had just been ready to crack that joke before she busted him. He tossed his key to her. “Let’s meet back at Keith’s house. I’ll put the hoverbike in his garage and you can bring my car there.”

Pidge nodded and went to help Hunk put Keith’s bike in the back of the truck.

Lance helped Keith back up onto the hoverbike and climbed into the seat in front of him. He felt Keith’s arms wrap around his midsection and a head rest on his shoulder.

“Thanks, Lance,” Keith said quietly.

Lance smiled and kicked in the thrusters. “Let’s see what this thing can do!”

Hunk watched the hoverbike speed out of the lot. “Where did Lance learn to pilot like that?” he asked Pidge.

Pidge chuckled. “I have no idea,” she lied to Hunk.

\------

Lance landed in Keith’s driveway and jumped down. He helped the unsteady Keith down from the hoverbike and walked him to the house. Lance opened the door and helped Keith over to the couch. He ran out and opened the garage door. After moving the hoverbike inside, he want back to the house.

Keith was shivering on the couch. “I don’t feel good,” he said as Lance came through the door.

Lance let his anger bubble back to the surface briefly. “What did that creep drug you with?” he asked.

The door opened and Pidge walked in. “Your car is intact and parked in the driveway,” she informed Lance as she caught sight of Keith. 

“Do we need to take him to the hospital?” Lance asked Pidge with obvious concern in his voice.

She walked over and felt Keith’s forehead and took his pulse. “Keith, were you feeling light headed, couldn’t think straight, extra hot, everything touching your skin was like electricity, lowered inhibitions, and some interesting sexual side effects?”

Keith blushed a bright red. “Yes.”

Pidge pulled Lance off to the side. “I think he’ll be fine. I’m guessing Lotor used a new designer date rape drug on him. It’s designed to lower inhibitions, guarantee performance, and then result in this downturn. This last physical state is supposed to enhance the guilt the victim feels. We’ve been reading about it in psych class. It’s a really cruel drug. Someone should probably watch him tonight though.”

“I’ll do it. I’m worried the Galra team might show up to try something too,” Lance said.

Pidge squinted at Lance through her glasses. “Are you sure that’s the best idea? It was kind of your fault he went running off.”

“We’ll be fine. When he’s better, we’ll talk.” Lance lowered his voice more. “So this was a major crisis. How could he not have felt the connection to his Lion?”

“The drugs,” Pidge answered without skipping a beat. “He may have felt the connection, but the drugs numbed his brain and set his libido into overdrive. With the link as weak as it is, that was too much to break through.”

Lance frowned and looked back at Keith shivering. “You sure he’ll be ok?”

“Yes. This is exactly what the symptoms look like. He’ll probably have a headache in the morning too. Get him warmed up in the shower to alleviate the shivers and then something to eat. Make sure he gets to bed early too.”

The rumble of Hunk’s truck sounded out in the driveway.

Pidge walked to the door. “I better go. If he comes in, he’ll spend the next hour alternating between giving Keith a lecture and trying to make him feel better.”

“Ok. I’ll call you if anything happens.” Lance frowned and leveled a finger at Pidge. “Wait, how did you get here so much faster than Hunk? Were you speeding in my car?” Lance’s voice went up an octave on the last question.

“Bye!” Pidge smiled and quickly ducked out the door.

“That little…” Lance mumbled to himself as he locked the door and then walked over to Keith. “Ok, we need to stop you from shivering. How about a hot shower?”

“Sure. I want to wash away everything that happened today,” he said and stood up. 

They walked down the hall to the bathroom and Lance ducked inside. He slid open the glass shower door and turned on the water. Once he had a toasty, but not roasty temperature, he slid the door shut and turned back to Keith.

“I’m perfectly capable of starting the shower, Lance,” Keith said with a slightly annoyed voice.

“I know you are. Until that drug is 100% out of your system, I’m not going anywhere. Pidge might think you’re ok, but I’m not convinced. Now hop in the shower. I’ll go get you some clean clothes,” Lance said and left the bathroom. 

Keith closed the bathroom door and stripped out of his clothes. He got in the shower and let the hot water run over him. The warmth helped combat the shivering and washing all the sand off himself was cathartic in a way. He couldn’t wash away the memories from today, but at least all the physical traces would be gone.

Lance went down to Keith’s room and dug through what appeared to be a clean laundry basket. He pulled out a pair of gray jogging pants and a loose white t-shirt. He took them back to the bathroom and knocked on the door. “I got you some jogging pants and a t-shirt. Where do you want me to put them?”

“Just a second!” Keith yelled as he slid open the shower door and grabbed his towel. He gave his hair a quick dry and wrapped the towel around his waist as he made his way to the door. He opened it up and took the clothes from Lance.

“Feeling any better? You don’t look like you’re shivering anymore,” Lance said as he observed Keith.

“Yeah. I think the hot shower helped and hopefully whatever he gave me is almost gone. Thanks for grabbing my clothes. Any chance you could go warm up some food? I’m starving for some reason,” Keith said as his stomach conveniently growled.

“Pidge figured that would happen. I’ll go check that empty kitchen of yours and see what I can come up with,” Lance said as he walked away.

Keith finished drying off and put on the jogging pants and t-shirt. He felt way better than he had earlier. The shivers were gone and now he was just starving. When he made his way into the kitchen, Lance was heating up one of the meals that Hunk had frozen for Keith a few days ago. Lance set a plate in front of Keith and dished himself up a little helping of food as well. They sat down at the little table and started to eat. 

“Hunk is definitely my favorite cook,” Lance said with food in his mouth.

Keith nodded in agreement as he slowly ate his food.

Lance finished off his portion and took the plate to the sink. “You mind if I take a shower? I have sand in places it really has no business being.”

“Go ahead. Grab a towel out of the hallway closet  _ before _ you get in the shower this time,” Keith said with a little grin. Lance wandered off down the hall and Keith heard the shower turn on. He got up and set his dish in the sink. His stomach was full, but he wanted something to munch on. After digging through the nearly empty cupboards, he found some popcorn and tossed it in the microwave. When it was done, he poured it into a big bowl and walked over to the couch. He grabbed the remote and turned on some stupid game show and started munching.

Lance emerged from the hallway and wandered to the couch. He had stopped in Keith’s room and gotten another pair of jogging pants and a black t-shirt. “Oh popcorn!” he exclaimed as he came around to the front of the couch.

Keith looked up and burst out laughing. Lance had pulled the clothes out of his donation basket. The clothes in there were too worn or shrunk for Keith to wear anymore so they were going to be donated to charity. On Lance, his old t-shirt was a couple inches short and left a swath of skin visible below its bottom. The jogging pants were even worse and came half way up Lance’s shins.

Lance looked down and scowled. “It isn’t my fault there were only midget clothes in your room,” he said with a huff and plopped down on the couch. He reached over and grabbed a handful of popcorn.

“Sorry, I should have gotten those donated ages ago. I keep forgetting to take them in,” he said and tossed another mouthful of popcorn in.

“How are you feeling?” Lance asked. “You’re looking much better.”

“I’m still a little foggy, but I’m feeling much better.” Keith crossed his legs and set the popcorn bowl in between them.

“That’s good. I was worried about you,” Lance admitted.

“I know,” Keith said sincerely. “You can head home if you want. I’ll be fine.”

Lance reached over and grabbed a handful of popcorn. “Nope. You just admitted you aren’t fully recovered and I promised Pidge I’d keep an eye on you. Not to mention, you’ll need help if those Galra show up.”

“Thanks for everything today. You don’t know how happy I was to see you,” Keith admitted.

Lance took a deep breath and thought about what he was going to say next. He knew they had to discuss what happened earlier today at some point, but didn’t know if he was ready for it. He swallowed and pressed ahead. 

“So why did you run off today?” Lance asked as he grabbed some more popcorn.

“It was stupid. I just got upset and needed to clear my head.”

“Was it because of Nyma and I in the cafeteria?” Lance asked hesitantly.

Keith sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe. I just got uptight seeing her paw all over you like that. I think I got irritated when you were flirting back with her too.”

“I flirt with everybody. That’s just the way I am,” Lance said honestly.

Keith absently poked his finger in popcorn bowl and stirred it around.

“Hell, I even flirt with you. Not that it does any good,” Lance said and shoved some popcorn in his mouth.

Keith looked up and turned toward Lance. “What do you mean? You don’t flirt with me.”

Lance started counting on his fingers. “Teasing you about your mullet. Guessing the color of your underwear. Telling you I’m going to buy you a Speedo, which you would look great in by the way. How many times do I wink at you each day? Starting a space snowball fight with you. Wait, forget that one. I even bought you body wash and shampoo.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Most of that is called teasing, Lance.”

“Well, you aren’t exactly the easiest person to flirt with Mr. Stodgy Pants. Do you know how much effort I put in daily just to get you to crack a smile?” Lance let out an exaggerated sigh and slumped back into the couch. “I’m completely exhausted by the time I get home from all the effort I expend trying to get you to laugh.”

“Ha ha. I’m not that bad. I did push you in the pool,” Keith said with a tiny grin.

Lance nodded. “That was actually pretty good. You caught me completely off guard.”

Keith smiled. “The look on your face was hilarious.”

Lance found himself grinning. “Well, I didn’t expect you to be so… spontaneous. It was a different side of you.”

“So, why do you flirt with me?” Keith asked gingerly.

Lance took a deep breath and turned toward Keith. “Because I like you. If you want to think of it as teasing, I’m fine with that. I can live with being just friends. If you want to think about it as something more, I’d be up for that. Either way, you’re stuck with me.”

Keith blinked a few times and turned back to the TV.

Lance stood up. “Well, that got awkward quickly. Come on. Let’s get you into bed. Pidge said you should get to sleep early tonight.” Lance reached down and grabbed the popcorn bowl and took it into the kitchen.

Keith watched Lance go in the kitchen as he stood up. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d known Lance a lot longer than this and that somehow that little revelation had way bigger ramifications. Maybe the drug was still messing with him. He wandered to the bathroom and brushed his teeth before heading to his room. When he walked into his room, Lance was grabbing one pillow off the bed and a blanket out of the laundry basket. Keith moved to the far side of the bed and set his phone on the charger as he flopped onto the bed.

“If you feel sick or need something, just yell. I’ll be out on the couch,” Lance said and started toward the doorway.

“Hey, Lance. What if I do want more?” Keith asked.

Lance turned around and leaned on the doorframe. “Well, we’d have to talk about it and decide what that meant,” he wandered back and sat at the foot of the bed as he talked. “We’d have to figure out what we’d tell Hunk and Pidge.” A smile spread across his face. “We’d have to figure out what name we’d go by on social media. You know, like Klance or Leith.”

Keith laughed. “I’m pretty sure no one on social media is going to be interested in us being boyfriends.”

“And then we’d have to establish some guidelines. Things like whether or not to hold hands at school. Based on the perfect imitation of a prune your face is making right now, I’m guessing that’s a no. I could settle for the occasional secret make out session in the restroom,” Lance said with a wink.

“Oh god. What am I getting myself into? We are not kissing in the bathroom at school.” Keith shook his head. “We take this slow. See how things go for a while and see what develops.”

The expression on Lance’s face took on slightly devious look. “We’d have to decide how sex would work. Who does what and how. I’m not really sure if I’m more of a…”

Keith blushed and cut him off. “Lance! What part about taking it slow didn’t you understand?”

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist,” Lance said with a laugh. “If we start dating, I’m still going to tease you like always. Some things aren’t meant to change.”

Keith smiled. “I kind of expected that.” His expression changed to something more serious. “Please cut down on the flirting with other people though. Winks and smiles are fine, but don’t let Nyma sit in your lap again, please.”

Lance spun backwards and collapsed on his back next to Keith. His voice took on a fake whiny tone. “Aw, but Keith! I’ll die without love and attention from my adoring fans.” He almost made it through without laughing. “I will practice greater restraint. I promise.”

“I guess that’s all I can really ask.” He turned his head toward Lance. “So, does this make it official then?”

Lance turned his head toward Keith. “I’m in if you are, boyfriend.”

“New rule. Just call me Keith, ok?”

“That works for me. Calling you some fuzzy pet name just doesn’t fit the brooding warrior persona you exude anyway.” Lance stood up and started walking to the door.

Keith looked confused. “Where are you going?”

“To go sleep on the couch.” He smirked at Keith. “You’re not getting me in bed on the first date, Kogane.” Lance ducked as the pillow Keith threw at him hit the door instead. He tossed it back on the bed. “Goodnight, Keith.”

“Goodnight, Lance.” Keith grabbed his pillow from where Lance tossed it and tucked it under his head as he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heading into the home stretch now! Leave comments and let me know what you're thinking so far!


	14. Next Steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Keith spend some time together with friends and family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just found out that I share Keith's birthday! LOL Talk about a coincidence. That's a one in 366 chance!

Chapter 14: Next Steps

Lance sat up and silenced his phone alarm. The alarm was set for earlier than usual. He figured that they’d need to get to school early to talk with Shiro and maybe Professor Ryner about Keith’s absence. He stretched and got up off the couch. Sleepily walking down the hall, Lance made his way to Keith’s room. Thankfully, there was no loud snoring coming from the bed this time. Keith was curled on his side sleeping soundly above the covers in the middle of the bed. Lance sat down on the bed and stared at what was now his boyfriend. That thought was a little weird. He’d always hoped Keith was interested in him, but Keith was hard to read. It wasn’t like they had much time to focus on things other than saving the galaxy anyway.

Keith sensed a shift in the bed and slowly opened his eyes. He turned his head upwards and saw Lance staring at him. Stretching his body like a human cat, he smiled. “Is it time to get up already?”

Lance smiled down at Keith. “I’m up early. I need to go home to get some clean clothes and a shower. I’ll circle back and pick you up after that. I’m pretty sure Hunk still has your bike. We probably need to get to school early so we can talk to Shiro about what happened. Maybe he can help smooth things over with Professor Ryner too.”

“Oh crap. I skipped physics. She’ll probably make me do some horrible assignment to make up for it.” Keith threw his arm over his eyes and groaned.

“She likes me. I’ll sweet talk her,” Lance offered. “It might mean some flirting though. I do have a certain charm with the ladies,” he said with a wink.

Keith pulled his arm away from his face. “I can see you being very popular with the 65 plus crowd,” he said jokingly.

“I think I liked you better when you didn’t crack jokes,” Lance said with a grin.

“Too bad, Lance. You told me to lighten up,” Keith joked. “Go home and get ready. I’ll hop through the shower and be waiting.”

“I’ve created a monster.” Lance got up from the bed. “I’ll be back shortly,” he said and went to the living room to gather his clothes.

Keith slowly rolled himself out of bed and meandered into the bathroom. He had a minor headache and figured a nice hot shower would help. He heard the front door close as he turned on the water and jumped in.

\------

Lance finished showering and put on some clean clothes at home. His mother was just starting to cook breakfast for the family when he emerged from the bedroom.

“How was your night, Lance?” she asked as he popped in the kitchen. “You didn’t call again.”

“Sorry. I fell asleep on Keith’s couch,” Lance explained. “I’m going back to pick him up for school.”

“I worry about you when you don’t call sweetie. Does Keith need breakfast too?” she asked as she whisked some scrambled eggs.

“I’m sure he’d appreciate that,” Lance said as he leaned in and kissed his mother on the cheek.

“Aren’t you in a good mood this morning?” she said with a smile. “Invite him over for dinner tonight. Your father is heading out of town again and Keith likes to help with the dishes unlike my own flesh and blood.”

Lance hugged his mom and rested his head on her shoulder. “I’ll ask him.” He knew this wasn’t his real mother, but she was as close as he could get under the circumstances. “Would you be ok if Keith was more than just a friend?” he asked cautiously.

“Lance, your father and I love you no matter what. Keith seems like a nice boy. As long as you’re happy, we’re happy for you,” she said and dished some eggs into a container for him. “Take these over and share them with Keith. Don’t forget about dinner tonight.”

Lance let go of his mother and grabbed the glass container. “Thanks, Mom.” He ran out the front door and hopped back in the Camaro.

\------

True to his word, Keith was waiting in the driveway when Lance returned. Lance pulled up and Keith hopped in the car.

“This is going to be an interesting day,” Keith said as he buckled his seatbelt and took the container of scrambled eggs from Lance.

Lance chuckled and backed the car out of the driveway. “Mom thought you’d like some breakfast. It will be fine. We’ll talk to Shiro first and then figure out the rest.”

“He’s going to be mad about me flying off angry in the middle of the day. He’s been working with me on focusing that anger into swimming. I feel like I failed him a little.”

“Trust me, you aren’t the one he’s going to be mad at,” Lance predicted. “Oh, and you’re coming over for dinner tonight. Dad’s out of town and Mom insists.”

“Did you tell her about us?” Keith asked.

“I mentioned it this morning. She likes you, it will be fine. It isn’t like she’s inviting you over to interrogate you about dating her son,” Lance joked. 

“I just don’t want things weird with your family,” Keith admitted.

“Pretty sure they all thought you were my boyfriend on the first visit,” Lance said with a grin.

Keith laughed. “That’s true. It didn’t help when you were guessing the color of my underwear in front of them.”

Lance smirked. “Which, I was right about.”

Keith shook his head and smiled. “Just drive.”

\------

Keith had been right, Shiro was furious. Lance had been right also, it wasn’t Keith that Shiro was furious with.

“That piece of… I’m going to call Haggar right now and get him tossed off their team! Blackmail and kidnapping are not acceptable behavior under any circumstances,” Shiro ranted furiously.

“Haggar is their coach?” Lance said as Keith nodded in answer. “That makes perfect sense.” He turned back to the coach. “Shiro, we can’t do that.”

“Like hell I can’t,” Shiro said as he pulled his phone out.

Lance put his hand on Shiro’s arm. “Listen to me. I probably broke Lotor’s nose and we tasered a few of the Galra team members,” he said. “Oh, and I may have stolen his hoverbike,” Lance mumbled under his breath.

“He needs to pay for what he did. Getting him tossed off the team would be a good start,” Shiro insisted.

“Isn’t his dad like the Emperor of the Known Universe or something? Don’t you think there will be some retribution if we get his son kicked off the team?” Lance asked.

Shiro sighed. “His dad is Mayor Zarkon. He’s been rumored to make things happen when people oppose him. That isn’t a good reason to back off though.”

Lance crossed his arms and smiled. “I think I know what we should do. First though, is there any way you could smooth things over with Professor Ryner for Keith? I think he’s already paid a pretty heavy price for skipping a couple classes.”

“Keith, I am disappointed in you for letting your temper get the best of you again. Lance is right though, you’ve suffered enough on this one.” Shiro reached out his hand. “Give me your PET.”

Keith handed over his PET to Shiro who put a note in there for Professor Ryner.

“Thanks, Shiro. I will get it under control,” Keith promised. 

Shiro nodded. “I know you will. Go give that note to Ryner before going to home room.”

A visibly relieved Keith nodded and ran off towards the physics classroom.

Shrio turned his attention back to Lance. “You stole Lotor’s hoverbike?”

“More like a sudden unexpected legal transfer of ownership.” Lance rationalized.

“You two are going to be the death of me. What is this plan of yours?” Shiro asked.

Lance explained how Keith wasn’t the only one that had been blackmailed or hurt by Lotor. He talked about the contents of Lotor’s phone and detailed out his plan. By the time he was done, Shrio was nodding.

“So you purposely want to wait until during the swim meat with Galra High to do this?” Shiro asked.

Lance nodded. “Keith needs to face him in competition on his own to move past this. He needs the satisfaction of defeating Lotor. Plus, my plan won’t let Zarkon get involved until it’s too late.”

“Ok. I’ll make a couple calls and we’ll see what happens,” Shiro said. “Get to your home room. I’m not writing out an excuse for you being late.”

Lance ran off and yelled over his shoulder, “You won’t regret this, Shiro!”

“I hope not,” Shiro mumbled to himself.

\------

Lance ducked into his home room seat with a few minutes to spare before Coran would arrive.

“Good morning, Lance.” Came a sugar coated voice from behind him.

Lance turned around and faced Nyma. He leveled a finger at her and started talking in a hushed tone. “Can the act. I know Lotor made you two hit on Keith and I.”

The color drained from Nyma’s face and Florona looked like a caged animal trying to figure out how to escape.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Nyma insisted weakly.

“I saw the pictures on his phone. He was obviously blackmailing both of you,” Lance said quietly. “He tried to blackmail Keith also, but it didn’t work.”

Nyma broke down first. “He was going to share those pictures with everyone if we didn’t cooperate.”

Lance shook his head. “You shouldn’t have been in that position to start with. What did he want you to do?”

Florona finally spoke up in a whisper. “I was supposed to try and seduce Keith.”

Nyma lowered her head in shame. “I was supposed to get you to swim naked in the school’s pool after hours and take some pictures.”

“And then I’d get tossed off the swim team for inappropriate behavior on school grounds,” Lance finished.

“Or he’d blackmail you with the pics like he did us,” Nyma said. “I’m sorry, Lance. I really do like you. I just couldn’t say no since he has those pics.”

Lance sighed. “The guy is a manipulative bastard. I get why you two felt you had to do it. He’s going to pay for what he did to you.”

The door opened and Coran came in the room. He took his place at the front of the room and looked over the class.

“Tell me if he contacts you again, OK?” he asked and both girls reluctantly nodded. “Oh, and make sure you come to the swim meet on Saturday,” he said and turned back toward the front.

\------

Lance finished his morning classes and made his way to the cafeteria for lunch. 

“Tofu? Really?” he asked the woman wearing a hairnet behind the counter. He slid his tray to the end of the line and grabbed a slice of pumpkin pie to go with his tofu. Making his way to the usual table, he saw Florona and Nyma sitting with the cheerleaders. They lowered their heads and averted their eyes as he walked by. Lance sat down next to Keith and picked up his fork. “It looks like they just made one batch of food and kept half white and colored the other half to look like pumpkin pie.”

Hunk was sculpting his tofu into some kind of creature with arms and legs. “Yeah, I can’t eat this. It’s like glue without flavoring.” He used the pumpkin pie to add eyes to his creation.

“My appetite is officially gone,” Pidge said as she pushed her tray away. “How are you feeling today, Keith?”

Keith looked up from his meal. “Fine. I had a little headache this morning, but it’s gone now.”

Lance felt a hand gently grip his knee under the table. He looked over and Keith was taking a deep breath.

“So, there’s something that we need to tell you two,” Keith said as his hand tightened on Lance’s knee.

Pidge focused her attention on Keith and Hunk looked up from his makeshift action figure sculpting.

Keith stumbled over his words. “Lance and I had a talk last night…”

Lance put his hand on top of Keith’s and gave it a gentle squeeze. “We decided to give dating a try,” he finished for Keith. “Date each other. Not others. We’re a couple.” he attempted to clarify.

“About time,” Hunk said matter of factly and went back to his tofu sculpture.

Pidge shifted her gaze to Lance. “A moment alone, please?”

Lance got up and followed Pidge off to a deserted area near the windows.

“Do you really think this is a good idea?” she asked him in an irritated tone.

Lance got a confused look on his face. “What do you mean? You told said he was into me and I should pay more attention to the people I care about.”

Pidge looked over at the table and saw Keith staring at them. “You’re creating reasons to stay in this fantasy world. Taking advantage of Keith’s repressed desires now could mess up your chances for getting him to connect with the real world and wake up.”

Lance leaned back against the glass. He hadn’t considered that angle. 

Pidge pressed further. “What about you? If you finally have something you’ve desired for a long time, will you push as hard to get him to wake up? If there’s a chance you won’t have this in the real world, will you still make it your priority to get out of here?”

Lance leaned forward. “Wait, you don’t think he’ll remember all this when he wakes up?”

Pidge sighed. “That’s a real possibility. This is his subconscious. In essence, a giant dream. People don’t typically remember dreams when they wake up.”

“So, you’re saying he could wake up and never know any of this happened. He wouldn’t remember anything we’ve gone through here,” Lance said as he turned and stared out the windows.

Pidge started walking away and then turned back to Lance. “I’m sorry, Lance. I don’t know what will happen for sure. I know two things with certainty. First, that his brain will start shutting down at some point soon if it hasn’t already. You can’t stay here regardless of how much either of you like it. Second, I don’t want to see either one of you get hurt. That goes for both this dream world and reality.” She wandered back to the other table.

Lance continued to stare out the windows in thought until he heard footsteps and felt a hand on his shoulder.

“You ok? What did Pidge say?” Keith asked in a quiet tone.

Lance reached up and brushed a tear from his cheek before he turned around. “Nothing. I’m fine,” he said unconvincingly. “We should get back to the table…”

Keith leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Lance in a hug. “Whatever’s wrong, we’ll get through it.”

Lance barely held it together. Pidge made him realize that Keith wasn’t the only one with repressed desires. The thought of having something he wanted for so long only to have it ripped away was almost too much. Just like in the real world, Pidge was usually right though. He needed to get Keith out of this dreamworld for both their sakes.

Forcing a smile on his face, Lance stepped back from Keith. “I thought you hated public displays of affection?” he asked with a grin.

Looking at Lance’s face, Keith couldn’t shake that feeling of knowing him a lot longer than he had. “Only the holding hands part,” he said trying to lighten the situation.

Lance’s expression turned to a genuine smile. “Oh? So there’s still hope for making out in the restroom?” he joked.

Keith grinned and rolled his eyes. “No. Come on, back to the table.”

They sat down again across from their friends. Hunk had appropriated everyone’s tofu from their trays and now had a giant action figure in the middle of his tray. Lance did a double take as he looked at it. The sculpture appeared to have five distinct parts combined into one giant figure. It wasn’t Voltron, but it was close. Hunk squished it down back into a bland slab of tofu before Lance could comment on it.

“Anyway, congratulations. You two have been quietly chasing each other since you met,” Hunk said with that internal wisdom that occasionally bubbled to the surface. “Are you going to start wearing each other’s clothes? Because, it would be totally weird to see Lance in red or Keith in blue.” Just like that, the wisdom was gone.

Pidge looked up at both of them. “Just be good to each other, ok?” she said and stood up.

Both Lance and Keith nodded as the lunch period ended and they all collected their trays.

“Pidge seems a little weird today,” Keith commented to Lance as they got up. “Is she mad about us dating?”

“Kind of the inverse. I think she just wants to make sure both of us are happy,” Lance said truthfully.

They made their way to the tray return and started down the hall to physics.

“I am not looking forward to this,” Keith said with a groan. “Ryner hates me anyway. Skipping her class can’t help that situation.”

“You’ll be fine. I’ll smooth it over with her,” Lance said as they took their seats.

Professor Ryner entered the room and started laying out her materials on the desk. She looked up toward Keith. “Nice of you to join us today, Mr. Kogane.”

Keith shrank back in his chair and whispered to Lance, “I told you she’d pick on me.”

Lance smiled. “It’s only because you’re so fun to pick on.”

\------

Keith survived the rest of physics without any incidents. He was the first out of the room after the period ended and waited in the hall for Lance.

“You couldn’t have gotten out of that room any faster if you tried,” Lance joked.

“Yeah, I wasn’t going to take the chance she’d stop me for something. I’m looking forward to practice though. I need to take out some of this frustration in the water. We go up against Galra High in Saturday’s meet. I’m not sure how I feel about facing Lotor again,” Keith admitted.

Lance started walking toward the locker room. “I think confronting him in the water is exactly what you need. He tried to force you into losing using blackmail. When you kick his ass in the pool, it will be doubly satisfying.”

Keith smiled. “You’re right. I kind of wish it was just he and I in the heats. That would be way more satisfying.”

Lance grinned. “That’s your confrontational warrior persona talking. I figured that might be what you wanted. Let’s see what Shiro has to say today.”

They went in the locker room and Lance turned down his usual row of lockers as Keith continued to his secluded corner. After Keith had changed, he made his way back around to where Lance was just pulling his goggles around his neck.

“If you want, you could move your stuff to a locker over in the other row. Maybe be a little closer to mine,” Keith said quietly.

Lance smiled. “I might do that tomorrow. Only if you’re comfortable though. I don’t want to encroach on your personal space.”

“I actually wouldn’t mind if you did,” Keith said with a smirk.

Lance grabbed his towel and they both made their way out to the pool.

Shiro was waiting poolside for the last team members to arrive. Once everyone was there, he addressed the whole team.

“We have today and tomorrow to practice before our first meet against Galra High on Saturday. I am expecting the best out of all of you. Remember, they’re the reigning division champs and they intend to keep it that way.” He looked at Lance as he said his next words. “If everyone on the team agrees, we’re going to change a few things. I’ve discussed it with Galra’s coach and she has agreed. The two team captains will not compete in their shorter events. For us, that means that Keith will not be in the 100m or 200m freestyle heats. For them, Lotor will not compete in those same events. In exchange, both teams will only put the captains in the 400m freestyle.”

Keith looked over to Lance and saw an ear to ear grin. Lance had convinced Shiro to let Keith and Lotor go one on one against each other in the 400m freestyle. He was going to have his chance to beat Lotor without any distractions.

Shiro continued, “While this isn’t exactly standard, it gives some of you the chance to shine in your events without Lotor or Keith being involved. That said, if anyone disagrees with this we will revert to the original heat setup.”

There was no disagreement. No one wanted to swim against Lotor and they knew Keith was their best chance to beat him. The rest of practice was brutal as Shiro worked the team to their limits. By the time it was over, everyone was exhausted. They made their way into the locker rooms in silence.

Keith rinsed off his suit in the shower and changed into his clothes. He waited for Lance outside the locker room.

Lance popped out of the door a few minutes later and made his way to Keith.

“How did you get Shiro to agree to that? I can’t believe Haggar agreed,” Keith said with disbelief.

Lance gently elbowed Keith in the ribs as he started walking toward the car. “I can be pretty convincing sometimes. After everything that happened, I figured that it would be better for the team if all the animosity between you two was focused on one event. Shiro agreed and contacted Haggar. I’m betting Lotor jumped at the chance to take you on alone when she asked him.” Lance unlocked the car and looked across the roof to Keith. “This puts a lot of pressure on you though. Lotor may have wanted to blackmail you into losing, but he’s still one of the best swimmers out there.”

“So am I,” Keith said with an expression of total commitment. “He won’t win.”

Lance grinned. “There’s my Paladin,” he thought to himself as he got in the car.

\------

“I think I’m more nervous for this dinner than the first time,” Keith said half joking as they pulled into Lance’s driveway.

Lance smiled as he got out of the car. “Nothing to be nervous about. They like you.” 

They made their way up to the front of the house. Just as Lance was reaching for the door, the knob turned and it opened inward. 

Veronica stood blocking the entryway as she stared up at both of them. She looked from one to the other and then turned her head into the house. “Lance and his boyfriend are here!” she announced.

“Oh for goodness sake, get out of the doorway and let them in you precocious imp,” Lance’s mother instructed as she walked by on her way to the dining table. “The food is ready. Everyone get to your seat!”

Veronica grunted and moved out of the way. The rest of the family ran from wherever they had been hiding into the dining room and onto their seats.

Keith sat down at the head of the table like the last time and Lance sat down to his left. He looked over the table and saw there was fried chicken, baked corn, mashed potatoes, country gravy, and some kind of bread pudding for dessert. After skipping the tofu debacle at lunch and the effort of swim practice, Keith’s stomach suddenly growled loudly at the site of the feast in front of him. He felt a finger run down from the corner of his mouth to his chin. He looked over at a grinning Lance.

“You were actually drooling a little,” Lance said and showed his damp finger to Keith.

Luis and Marco burst out laughing, but were silenced by their mother.

“Behave yourselves, you two.” she said and turned toward Keith. “I’ll take that as a compliment on my cooking, Keith. So, let’s not keep the hungry waiting. Dig in!”

The serving dishes made their way around the table. Everyone filled their plates up and started eating. The chicken was fantastic with a homemade breading that was crisped to perfection. The bread pudding for dessert practically melted as soon as it hit the tongue. Keith and Lance ate more than they should have. The lack of food at lunch and the grueling swim practice made the amazing meal even more satisfying.

As the meal came to an end, Keith stood up and started collecting plates. Lance got up and took the plates from Keith into the kitchen where his mother was waiting.

“Thank you, honey. Just set them next to the sink,” she said. “I like when Keith visits. I don’t even have to ask you to pick up the dishes. He seems to bring out the best in you.”

Lance grinned. “Yeah, I think he does.”

“Oh, that reminds me!” his mother said and wandered out of the kitchen. When she came back she held out a small box to Lance.

“Mom!” Lance whispered loudly. He pushed the box back into his mother’s hand. He looked over his shoulder back to the dining area where Keith was picking up the last of the plates. “Put that away before someone sees it!”

His mother held the little box up and waved it in Lance’s face. “Listen here young man,” she said with quiet authority. “You take this and make sure you use them when the time comes. If you refuse to take it, I’ll give them to Keith.”

Lance grabbed the box of condoms from his mother. “We aren’t having sex!”

His mother pointed up towards his face. Even with her height disadvantage, she was clearly in charge of the situation. “I said they’re for when you do. I’m not naive. I know what goes on with young people these days.” She sighed and lowered her finger. “I just want you to be safe. Keith is a nice boy, but you never know where he’s put his...”

“Mother!” Lance yelped.

“Everything ok in here?” Keith asked them as he brought the last of the dishes into the kitchen.

Lance grabbed the box, glared at his mother, and spun around to face Keith. He held the condom box behind his back with one hand and ran the other one through his hair in an awkward gesture.

“Just fine, Keith. Set them down on the counter and I’ll take care of the rest,” she said.

Keith looked at the giant forced smile on Lance’s face as he walked to the counter. He set the dishes down and turned around to see Lance running out of the kitchen.

“Thank you, dear. Now go out and relax for a bit while I finish these up,” Mrs. McClain said to a slightly perplexed Keith.

Keith went into the dining room as Lance was stuffing something into his jacket pocket. He walked up behind Lance. “What was that all about?”

Lance spun around. His face was bright red. “Nothing. There was nothing.”

Keith cocked his head to the side and grinned. “You’re bright red. What’s going on?”

Lance grabbed Keith’s arm and dragged him over to the living room couch. “Just sit down,” he said and flopped onto the couch.

Keith shook his head and sat down next to Lance. “You can be so weird sometimes,” he said with a slight giggle. Reaching down, Keith picked up the blue dyed cat and rubbed behind it’s ears. “For example, coloring your cat blue.”

“No kidding,” Marco volunteered as he played a video game.

“He’s always been weird,” Luis chimed in.

“Shut it,” Lance said as he poked each of his brothers in the back with his foot.

After a few minutes, Lance felt a poke to his left arm. He turned his head to see Keith poking him and staring down at the floor to the left of the couch. Veronica and Steven were both staring at Keith intently.

“What do they want?” Keith quietly asked Lance out of the corner of his mouth.

Lance leaned forward and stared at his two siblings. “What are you two doing?” 

“Waiting,” Steven said innocently.

Lance scowled at the two kids. “Waiting for what?”

Veronica scrunched her face up and looked at Steven like it was obvious Lance should know what they were waiting for. She turned back to Lance. “Duh. For you to kiss. Mom said you were dating. People who date are supposed to kiss each other.”

Keith leaned back into the couch as he felt his face burning. He was surprised to feel Lance’s lips pressing against his cheek.

Lance pulled back from kissing Keith’s cheek and looked at the two kids. “There, are you happy?”

“Yeah!” Veronica yelled as she clapped and ran off.

Steven got up and walked behind the couch to get out some toys. “Lame,” he mumbled as he went by.

Marco and Luis had paused their game and were now singing in unison. “Keith and Lance, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g.”

Lance’s mother came to their rescue. “One more word and you boys are grounded from video games for a week,” she shouted from the kitchen entrance. 

Lance shoved them both forward with his feet and then got up from the couch. “On that note, it’s probably time I get you home,” he said to Keith.

Keith jumped at the chance to escape. “That sounds like a good idea. Tomorrow is our last practice before the meet with Galra High on Saturday. A little extra sleep can’t hurt.” He turned toward the kitchen. “Goodnight, Mrs. McClain! Thanks for the delicious meal,” he yelled back to her.

“Anytime, Keith. You’re always welcome here,” she said and waved from the kitchen door.

Lance stuck his tongue out at Luis and Marco as he walked out the front door. He hopped in the Camaro and started the engine as Keith climbed in.

“That was quite the night,” Keith said as he fastened his seatbelt.

“A little teasing between brothers is a requirement at my house,” Lance explained as he backed the car out. “They wouldn’t do it if they didn’t like you. I’m afraid you’re just going to have to get used to it.”

“It’s ok. I was just caught a little off guard,” Keith said. “Mostly by you planting that kiss on my cheek.”

Lance laughed. “That wasn’t a kiss. That was a peck to get the two glaring monkeys off our backs.”

Keith laughed. “They wouldn’t stop staring! I was getting creeped out. Your sister can be seriously intense sometimes.”

“She is way too smart for her age.” Lance paused in thought for a second. “I wonder how smart she is now.”

Keith got a look of confusion on his face. “What do you mean? She couldn’t have gotten much smarter since we left the house.” 

Lance sighed. “Yeah, sorry. I guess that didn’t make any sense.” He decided to change the subject. “I forgot to tell you, Hunk was going to stop by your house to drop off your bike and take a look at the hoverbike in the garage.”

“Did you tell him not to change it? He has a habit of making mechanical enhancements to any vehicle he touches,” Keith warned.

Lance snickered. “I know. I’ve seen it first hand with my car and your bike. You have to admit though, they’re both better after he messed with them.”

“That’s true,” Keith said as he nodded.

Lance pulled into Keith’s driveway and put the car in park. Hunk had left the bike leaning up against the garage door. Keith got up and walked around to the driver side. Lance rolled down the window and leaned out.

“You want me to pick you up tomorrow or are you going to ride your bike to school?” Lance asked.

“If you want to pick me up, that’s fine with me,” Keith said with a smile.

Lance winked at his boyfriend. “I’ve already picked you up. I’ll be here to give you a ride though.”

Keith smiled and turned toward the house. He suddenly stopped and turned back to the window. He leaned down inside and kissed Lance on the cheek. “Goodnight, Lance. See you tomorrow,” he said and made his way up to the door.

Lance watched Keith as he walked up to the house. He thought about some of the things Pidge had mentioned about how this might all be gone once Keith woke up. He got out of the car and walked up to the door just as Keith unlocked it.

Keith turned to Lance as he set his backpack inside the door. “Did I forget something in the car?”

“No. That was just officially the worst goodnight kiss ever,” Lance said as he gently grabbed Keith’s arm and pulled them together. He pressed his lips against Keith’s mouth as he felt Keith’s arm slide up his back. After a few moments, Keith separated them.

Keith stared into Lance’s blue eyes and slowly smiled. “That better?”

Lance nodded as he took a few steps back. He opened his mouth a couple times without anything coming out. Finally, after he was halfway to the car, he managed to spit out a semi-coherent sentence. “I’ll see you in the morning. Usual time. Right here. In your driveway.”

Keith grinned and shook his head as he went inside and closed the door.


	15. The Last Night

Chapter 15: The Last Night

Keith finished showering and got dressed for school. He went out front to wait for Lance and realized his bike was still leaning against the garage. He rolled it back and hit the button to open the door. As it rolled up, he saw the hoverbike still parked inside. He leaned the bike against the garage wall and walked over to the hoverbike. Apparently, Hunk couldn’t resist messing with it yesterday. The blackish purple color was gone. It had been replaced by a deep blue that would fit Lance perfectly. Running his hand down the side of it, Keith remembered how it felt while he was riding it. That sensation of rushing over the ground and flying up over obstacles. He was a little jealous of Lance for being such a good pilot.

The Camaro pulled into the driveway and the engine shut off. Lance walked up into the garage next to Keith and looked over the hoverbike.

“You were right, he couldn’t keep his hands off it,” Lance said. “You do have to love his choice of color for it though. It looks so much better in blue.”

“I wonder how it would look in red?” Keith wondered aloud.

Lance giggled. “You have to learn how to fly it first. Maybe I could give you lessons on how to be a pilot at some point.” Lance was enjoying himself far too much. He knew deep inside that Keith was a better pilot, but not in this fantasy world. 

“I’d definitely be up for that,” Keith said in an excited voice. “Should we take it to school today?”

Lance stepped back and crossed his arms. “Not today. We’ll take it to the swim meet tomorrow. I want Lotor to watch it pull into the Galra High stadium. Just a little reminder that he can be defeated.”

“Wow, psychological warfare. You’re starting to scare me a little,” Keith said with a grin.

Lance nodded and started back to the Camaro. “I’m full of surprises. Come on, we don’t want to be late.”

\------

Lance was shivering in home room. For some reason, the cooling system in the room was cranked to high today. He’d have to grab his jacket after home room if all the classrooms were going to be this cold. He noticed Nyma and Florona chose to sit on the far side of the classroom this morning and wouldn’t make eye contact. He couldn’t blame them. Lotor had really messed with them.

Coran took his spot at the front of the class. He was wearing a coat over his usual outfit. “You may have noticed the abnormally cold temperature in the room today. Fear not, it is just a temporary situation. Apparently, some of the cooling units are failing so they boosted the output on others. You may want to take a jacket along to your classes though. Some rooms will be rather chilly while others should be normal. They aren’t sure when this will be resolved, so bring your jackets on Monday.”

After home room was over, Lance ran into Hunk on the way grab a jacket from his locker. 

“Did you like the hoverbike?” Hunk asked as he passed by.

Lance gave Hunk the double finger guns in approval. “Perfect color choice, Hunk.”

“Thought you’d like that,” Hunk said with a smile. “See you at lunch!”

\------

Lance’s morning classes alternated between chilly, normal, and hot. He walked into the cafeteria wearing his jacket as Pidge came through the door wearing a coat.

“I’m sick of this fluctuating temperature stuff,” she said in an irritated tone.

Lance nodded as he grabbed a tray. “Between that and the food, I think they’re trying to torture us. Speaking of food, what is the mystery meal of the day?”

Pidge looked up at the board and groaned. “Beef goulash. That means we get to spend lunch period trying to identify the ingredients.” She picked up her tray and started walking to the usual table. “It’s hot in here. It feels like the cooling failed completely in this area. The school is falling apart.” She stopped and adjusted her glasses. “Wait, first the reactor issue and now the environmental system failures? This could be tied to a degradation of Keith’s mind. Too many system failures may indicate the start of a mental collapse.”

“You mean he’s starting to shut down?” Lance asked.

Pidge shook her head. “I don’t know, but all these system failures could indicate that. You really need to get him out of here soon.”

“I’m hoping tomorrow will push things to the limit. He and Lotor will be competing against each other directly. Keith won’t have drugs in his system this time and he’ll push to win. If that doesn’t trigger the connection with his Lion, I’m not sure what will,” Lance admitted. “Oh, I need that drive from you with the stuff off of Lotor’s phone. Bring it to the swim meet with you tomorrow.”

Pidge nodded as they made their way to the group’s table. Hunk was already seated and poking at his meal. The look on his face as he took the first bite told them this was going to be another empty stomach afternoon. Pidge sat down and started separating her food into piles of similar characteristics like it was a science experiment.

Keith was sitting in his usual spot with his coat draped over the back of his chair. He had already pushed his tray away and had his arms crossed. “I’m used to frozen dinners, but this is terrible,” he said in a frustrated tone.

Lance took off his jacket and tossed it on the table. As the jacket landed, a little box popped out of the pocket and slid to the center of the table. Everyone’s eyes were drawn to the box and there was dead silence. After a few seconds, Hunk finally broke the tense calm.

“Warming ultra ribbed. That’s an interesting choice,” he said to no one in particular.

Pidge’s eyes narrowed and she glared at Lance. Keith’s skin color matched the red of his shirt. Lance lunged onto the table, grabbed the box of condoms and shoved them back in his jacket pocket.

“My mother forced those on me last night! She just wanted to make sure I was being safe,” Lance said as he sat down in his chair. “I didn’t buy them,” he pleaded as he crossed his arms.

Hunk’s lips pursed together and his brow furrowed. “Wait, does that mean you two are having sex?” he asked in innocent curiosity.

“No!” both Keith and Lance yelled simultaneously.

Hunk leaned back as a smirk crawled up one side of his mouth. “Uh huh,” he said as though he wasn’t convinced.

Keith started laughing. “That’s why you were being so weird in the kitchen last night. You were trying to hide those after your mom gave them to you.”

“Talk about embarrassing parental moments,” Lance confessed. “I had to take the box or she threatened to force them on Keith.”

“So, who does what?” Hunk asked with an ear to ear grin.

Pidge rolled her eyes and jumped in. “That’s enough, Hunk. It’s none of our business and I really don’t want to know.” She focused her stare at Keith. “Moving on to more relevant matters, Lance told me you’re going head to head with Lotor in tomorrow’s meet. Are you sure you’re up to facing him?”

Keith looked up. All traces of embarrassment were gone and you could see the conviction in his eyes. “Absolutely. I can’t wait to see the look on his face when I beat him. He won’t have the advantage of drugs this time.”

Pidge turned to Lance and nodded. Lance’s idea might actually work. Aside from an actual fight, tomorrow’s swim meet would be the best way to force a confrontation that might wake up Keith’s bond.

The lunch period ended and they all walked their trays full of goulash up to the return.

“Don’t forget to come to the swim meet tomorrow!” Lance yelled as they walked away from each other in the hall. He turned back to Keith as they walked to physics. “I’m sorry about the condom thing. I forgot they were in my pocket.”

Keith laughed a little. “It’s fine. I just didn’t expect you to be carrying those around with you. I really didn’t expect them to have come from your mom.”

“She caught me off guard on that one. What mother tries to force a box of condoms on her son while his boyfriend is in the other room?” Lance laughed and went into the classroom. 

\------

After physics, Keith and Lance made their way to the locker room. They took the usual routes to their separate lockers. Keith went to his secluded corner and started changing. Lance went to his locker and gathered his towel and swimsuit. He made his way back around toward Keith’s locker. By the time he got there, Keith had changed into his suit. 

“Here, put your gear in this locker,” Keith said and pointed at the one next to his.

Lance hung up his backpack in the locker. “Are you sure you’re ok with me being this close?” he asked as he laid his swimsuit and towel on the bench.

Keith walked up beside Lance and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. “I’m more than ok. Now get changed so we can practice,” he said and walked towards the exit.

Lance smiled to himself and started changing out of his clothes.

\------

Practice was focused and brutal. Shiro paired up several team members and worked individually with others. Keith and Lance paired off and pushed each other to their limit. By the time practice was over, they were as ready as they could be for the coming competition.

Shiro pulled everyone together at the end of practice. “The level of effort all of you have put forth is amazing. We have a real shot at beating Galra High tomorrow thanks to all your hard work. Regardless of how tomorrow plays out, I’m honored to be your coach. Make sure every one of you get to bed early and we’ll see you at the Galra stadium in the morning.”

Everyone gathered in a circle and did a team cheer before heading to the locker room.

“Keith, can I have a word?” Shiro hollered as they started to leave the pool.

Keith turned to Lance. “I’ll catch up to you in a bit.”

“I can stay out here if you want,” Lance volunteered.

“No, go ahead. I’ll be in soon,” Keith said as he turned and walked back to Shiro.

“Are you ready for tomorrow?” Shiro asked him. “We can still get Lotor pulled before the meet.”

“I’m ready. I’m looking forward to beating him fairly,” Keith said with conviction.

Shiro took a deep breath as he looked Keith over. “Alright. You’re as ready as you can be. Just remember to stay focused. Don’t let him goad you into anger. That’s the only weapon he has left against you.”

“I won’t let him get to me. I will not disappoint you, Shiro.”

Shiro smiled. “I know you won’t. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Keith made his way to the locker room and went into the showers to rinse the chlorine off. When he got back to his locker, Lance was already dressed in some jogging pants, t-shirt, and tying his shoes.

“Everything go ok with Shiro?” Lance asked as he stood up. 

Keith dried his hair with a towel as he answered Lance. “Yeah, he just wanted to make sure I was ready for tomorrow.”

Lance smirked. “You’re ready. Lotor won’t know what hit him,” he said as he started walking toward the exit. “Now hurry up and get some clothes on. I’ll wait outside.”

Keith finished drying off and pulled his clothes on. He packed up his swimsuit and went out to meet Lance.

“So, what’s the plan for tonight?” Lance asked. “Want to go out and eat? Pizza and a movie at your place? Night with my family?”

“Something relaxing. Maybe pizza and a movie?” Keith suggested. “I don’t think I can take another full McClain family fun night so soon.”

Lance laughed as they started walking to the car. “You don’t want another Veronica inquisition? Pizza and a movie sounds good. Nothing scary tonight though.”

They discussed potential movie choices on the ride to Keith’s house. After some debate on genre choices, they settled on a new superhero movie. Keith put in a pizza order as they were driving so it would arrive shortly after they got to his house. Lance pulled into the driveway and parked the Camaro. He reached in the back, pulled out his backpack, and followed Keith up to the door.

“Glad to see you’re finally locking that,” Lance said.

Keith finished entering the code on the door and it unlocked. “Yeah, after the beach incident, I’m not leaving it unlocked anymore. I can see Lotor sending someone to even the score.” He went inside and set his backpack on a dining table chair. Opening it, he pulled out his swimsuit. “I’m going to run this through the wash so it’s clean for tomorrow. You want me to wash yours too?”

Lance dug into his backpack and pulled out his suit. “Thanks, my mom usually does that when I bring it home,” he said as he handed the suit to Keith.

“I’m a big boy. I do all my own laundry,” Keith joked as he opened a closet off the kitchen with a vertical washer and dryer unit.

“Hey, she insists on doing it. Who am I to argue?” Lance responded while laughing.

As Keith hit start on the washing machine, the doorbell rang. Lance made his way over and answered it. He came back with an open pizza box and the smell of melted cheese filled the air. Walking to the couch, he set the box on the floor and kicked off his shoes as Keith brought over a couple glasses of water.

“I’m always so hungry after practice,” Lance stated as he pulled a piece out of the box.

Keith turned on the television and looked up the movie. “Yeah, it burns some serious calories. How else could I eat pizza all the time and have this body?” he joked.

Lance laughed and they ate in silence while the movie started. When they’d both had their fill of pizza, Keith got up and took the leftovers into the kitchen. Lance followed him and got another glass of water.

“So far, the movie is off to a slow start,” Lance complained.

“I thought pitting two super heroes up against each other would have been more action and less boring dialog,” Keith admitted.

“Well, it’s just getting started so give it a chance.”

“I’m going to get out of my jeans and put on some jogging pants,” Keith announced and started toward his room. “Back in a minute.”

Lance went back and sat down on the small couch. He leaned his head back and rolled it from one shoulder to the other. It might have been overexertion during practice or he may have hit the water funny on entry, but his neck and shoulders were stiff.

Keith came back in the living room and saw Lance rolling his head from side to side. “Did you do something to your neck?” he asked.

“Probably didn’t warm up enough or hit the water wrong,” Lance thought outloud. “It will be fine.” He felt Keith’s fingers dig into the muscles and tendons between his shoulder blades and neck. The pressure on the tense areas helped alleviate the stiffness.

“I figure I owe you at least one neck rub,” Keith said standing behind Lance.

Lance closed his eyes and relaxed. “Why do you say that?”

“Well, you gave me one when we were working on the physics homework. You gave me a second one when you were smearing sunscreen all over my back at the beach,” Keith reasoned.

“Oh. I forgot about those. It isn’t like I was keeping track. I just liked doing it,” Lance said honestly.

Keith stopped rubbing and sat back down on the couch. He started the movie up again. “Let’s hope this gets better or we wasted our money.”

Lance leaned back into the couch. “Our money? I bought the pizza, you bought the movie. So far, my contribution to this date is way more satisfying,” he joked.

“I didn’t realize this was a date,” Keith said as he smirked.

“It doesn’t have to be,” Lance said quietly. “I’m fine just spending time together.”

Keith reached his arm over and pulled Lance up against his side. “Fine, it’s a date. We picked the movie together though. If it sucks, that’s on us both.”

Lance let out an exaggerated sigh. “I suppose I can carry that burden,” he said as he rested his head on Keith’s shoulder.

The movie got slightly better as it went on. About half way through the movie, Lance shifted position on the couch. He draped his long legs over the far armrest and put his head on Keith’s lap.

“You would think they could figure out the bad guy was manipulating them into fighting each other,” Lance commented on the movie.

“Yeah, but then the movie would be like a half hour long,” Keith said as he absentmindedly ran his fingers through Lance’s hair.

“That wouldn’t necessarily have been a bad thing,” Lance joked.

They watched the rest of the movie in silence. The action finally picked up at the end, but it was too little too late to rescue the movie. Keith yawned and stretched his arms. He looked down to see Lance hadn’t made it through to the end with him. Keith looked up at the clock and realized the movie lasted longer than he’d planned. He gently started tapping Lance’s head to try and wake him up.

Lance’s face contorted into an irritated look as the tapping brought him out of a pleasant nap. He turned onto his back and moved his hands above his face to block the offending finger. 

“Stop that,” he said in a sleepy voice. “I was having a good dream.”

Keith chuckled quietly. “Well, it had to be better than the movie. Let me guess, did it involve a castle and some lions?”

A smile slowly crept across Lance’s sleepy face. “No. It was some kind of modeling show.” He started laughing. “You had to walk down the catwalk wearing a red Speedo, but you were too embarrassed. You ended up doing it, but held an inflatable shark in front of yourself the whole time.”

Keith couldn’t help but laugh. “How do you even come up with crazy stuff like that? Although, I probably would be holding an inflatable shark in front of me in that situation.” He turned his head down toward Lance. “Time for bed though. It’s all in against Galra High tomorrow and we need to be well rested.”

Lance groaned and sat up. “Yeah, I suppose.” He swung his feet over and off the couch as Keith stood up.

“That reminds me,” Keith said and went into the kitchen area. He opened the washing machine and pulled out their swimsuits. He hung them on the back of the dining table chairs to dry. “Wouldn’t have been good to leave those in there overnight. I’m going to brush my teeth. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Lance stood up from the couch and stretched as Keith went in the bathroom. He wandered down the hall into Keith’s room and dug through the usual pile of clothes baskets until he found a blanket. He walked over to the bed and grabbed one of the two pillows and turned toward the door. Keith was standing there in just his sweatpants.

“What are you doing?” Keith asked with a perplexed look on his face.

“Getting my couch stuff,” Lance answered. 

Keith moved out of the doorway and grabbed the pillow from Lance’s hand. “You barely fit on the couch.” He tossed the pillow on his bed and grabbed Lance’s hand. “You can crash in here with me.”

Lance swallowed and let Keith lead him over to the bed. “You sure about this?”

“It will be fine. It’s not like I’m some half alien that will kill you in your sleep,” Keith joked.

Lance cocked his head to the side and was about to say something when Keith fell back on the bed and pulled Lance along. He landed on top of Keith and their faces were inches from each other.

Keith smiled as he looked up at Lance. “You have the most amazing blue eyes,” he said and reached an arm up to pull Lance’s head down. Their lips touched and they kissed for several seconds.

Lance pulled up and grinned. “I still have no idea what color your eyes are. I swear they change on a daily basis.”

Keith laughed and shoved Lance off him. “You are such a smartass,” he said and rolled onto his side facing away from Lance.

Lance grabbed the sheet and pulled it up over both of them. He moved up against Keith’s backside and draped his arm over him, pulling them both together. Lance rested his face on the pillow just behind Keith’s hair. “That’s one of the reasons you like me so much,” he whispered.

Keith smiled as he closed his eyes. “Yeah, that’s one of the reasons. Now get to sleep. We have a big day ahead of us.”


	16. Reawakening

Chapter 16: Reawakening

Lance opened his eyes slowly and looked up at his phone on the little table next to the bed. Ten minutes remained before the alarm would go off. Ordinarily, Lance would have been mildly annoyed that he’d been deprived of any extra sleep by his internal clock waking him up. Today was different. 

He pressed back against the warm body behind him feeling the slow rise and fall as warm air tickled his neck. Keith’s arms were wrapped around him, gently squeezing with each breath. Lance never wanted to get out of bed. Things felt so perfect like this. Pidge had been right on her little psychoanalysis of Lance. He had what he wanted and giving this up was going to be difficult. The reminder that it wasn’t real, and the fact that staying here meant Keith’s brain would eventually shut down, outweighed his personal desires.

Keith woke up as he felt Lance press back against him. He nuzzled his head onto Lance’s shoulder and gently squeezed his arms tighter around him. “Good morning,” he said as he gently kissed Lance’s neck. 

Lance leaned his head back a little and closed his eyes. “Morning,” he said while putting his arms over Keith’s arms to snuggle tighter. 

Keith kissed Lance’s neck one more time and then detangled himself as he rolled out of bed. “Time to get up. Today is the big day.” He walked around to the other side of the bed and grabbed Lance’s arms attempting to tug him out of bed.

“Do we have to?” Lance moaned pitifully. “I was comfortable.”

Keith leaned down and planted a quick kiss on his lips. “I was too, but we have to get moving. Maybe we can snuggle again tonight after this is all over.”

Lance let himself be pulled up. He couldn’t tell Keith that this might be their last chance to cuddle. If Keith pushed himself hard enough today, the Red Lion would hopefully make contact. If that happened, all this would be gone.

“Come on,” Keith groaned as he yanked Lance to his feet. “I’m going to brush my teeth. I got a new toothbrush for you too,” he said and walked out to the bathroom.

“He even got me a toothbrush,” Lance sighed to himself as he followed. He shuffled into the bathroom and wrapped his arms around Keith’s bare stomach. Resting his head on Keith’s shoulder, he waited for his turn to brush.

Keith finished up and handed Lance the toothpaste. “I’m going to go put a shirt on while you brush.”

Lance finished up brushing his teeth and went out to the living room where Keith was packing their swimsuits up.

“I put both of our suits and towels in my backpack,” Keith explained. “Then we only have one thing to carry with us.”

Lance sat down on the couch and started pulling on his shoes. “Good idea.” When he was done tying his laces, he stood up and followed Keith to the door.

“You ok? You seem a little down,” Keith asked.

Lance took a deep breath and centered himself. “I’m good. I think I’m just nervous for both of us today,” he said believably. 

Keith smiled and ducked in for a quick kiss. “Don’t worry. You’ll do great in the backstroke heats and Lotor is all mine in the freestyle.” 

“Yeah, you’re right,” Lance said as he perked up a bit. “I can’t wait to see Haggar’s face when her team loses.” 

They made their way out to the garage and opened the door. Inside, the hoverbike sat there just begging to go for a ride. The blue color shined in the sunlight that came through the garage door opening.

Lance couldn’t stop himself from smiling. “Lotor is going to be so pissed,” he said as they climbed on the hoverbike.

Keith tugged his backpack straps tight and wrapped his arms around Lance. “My boyfriend, the pilot. Show me what you can do with this ride.”

Lance laughed as he fired up the thrusters. “Who’s your favorite pilot?”

Keith tightened his arms around Lance. “You are, of course.”

“I will never get tired of hearing that come out of your mouth,” Lance said as he lifted off and left the garage.

\------

They flew into the Galra High stadium parking lot and made a few passes by the main gate before choosing a parking spot near the front. Keith dismounted the hoverbike and looked around. The stadium was just like he remembered it from a month ago when the Garrison team had paid a visit. That was the first time he’d seen Lotor. He remembered the strange emotional attraction to the Galra captain when he’d first seen him getting out of the water. Keith cringed internally thinking about how he’d been manipulated and nearly raped by that white haired creep. He reached down and grabbed Lance’s hand as they made their way to the gate.

Lance looked down at his hand and then up at Keith. “I thought there wasn’t going to be any hand holding in public,” he said quizzically.

Keith gripped Lance’s hand tighter. “Thanks for being there for me. The rescue and everything else.”

Lance smiled and gripped back. “I’ll be there anytime you need me.”

They made their way through the arched entry where all the championship banners waved in the breeze. When they emerged near the pool, Lance looked over to the stadium seats. People were gradually filling up the rows and separating into Galra and Garrison sides. He caught sight of Pidge and Hunk. Dragging Keith by his hand, he went over to where they were sitting.

“This place is huge,” Hunk informed them. “It’s like three times the size of the Garrison pool stadium.”

“That just means you have to cheer louder,” Lance said and turned to Pidge. “Did you bring it?”

Pidge reached into her messenger bag and pulled out the memory storage unit she had cloned off of Lotor’s phone. “Of course I remembered,” she said as she handed it over to Lance. She turned to the side and lowered her voice. “This might be the last time I get to talk to you. If Keith wakes up, I’ll just get rolled back into his subconscious somewhere.”

Lance leaned in and hugged her. “I know. Thank you for everything you’ve done.” He started to walk away and then turned back to her. “When you do go back inside that thick head of his, try and remember me, ok?”

Pidge nodded as she pulled off her glasses and wiped a sleeve over her eyes.

Keith grabbed Lance’s arm and pulled him away. “We have to find Shiro and get changed. Bye guys. See you after the meet!”

Hunk waved and turned to Pidge. “We won’t see them again will we?” he said in a heavy tone.

Pidge smiled a little. “I have no idea how you play so dumb sometimes.” She rested her head against his arm. “I think we’ll see them again. Just not in the same way.”

Keith pulled Lance toward the pool and they saw Shiro standing alone with his arms crossed. He smiled when the pair approached him.

“Oh good, I hoped you two would be early,” he said and pointed behind the pool. “Visitor lockers are over that way. Try not to start any trouble with the Galra team. This is about swimming, not punching.”

“Understood,” Keith said with a slight hint of disappointment.

“Go find us a good spot in the locker room, I’ll be right in,” Lance said and Keith nodded as he ran off. 

“Do you have it?” Shiro asked.

Lance pulled the storage drive out and handed it to Shiro. “This was everything on Lotor’s phone, minus the stuff he was going to use to blackmail Keith. There’s examples of extortion, torture, kidnapping, and that was just in the first few pics I scrolled through. I’m guessing there’s a ton more on there. If you hand this over to the police, they can look through it since it came from an anonymous source and not a police search.”

Shiro looked at the little storage drive. “It may start out anonymous, but it will eventually come back to you. Are you sure you want to go through with this?”

“After what he did to Keith, I don’t care. Lotor is evil and when the contents of that drive leak out, where it came from will be the least of anyone’s concerns,” Lance said and turned toward the visitor locker rooms.

Shiro tucked the drive in his pocket and pulled out his phone to call an old friend in the police department, Kythylian Mu. The contents of that little drive would be the score of a lifetime for the aggressive police detective. 

Lance walked around the edge of the pool and was nearly to the visitor locker room entrance when a figure appeared in front of him. 

“So, you’re Lance McClain,” a gravely voice came from the individual. 

Lance looked the person over. The face was obscured by a dark purple track hoodie. All he could see was a sharp chin pointing out the bottom. The fingers that extended beyond the sleeves were curled and thin. The legs were covered in track pants that were long enough to cover whatever shoes the person was wearing and just barely dragged on the ground.

“Pleasure to meet you Haggar,” Lance said unconvincingly.

A quiet cackle came from the figure as she pulled the hood back from her head. “Somehow, I doubt that is true. I look forward to seeing how you compete against Haxus in the backstroke heats today. You won’t have a taser to help you this time,” she said with a sneer.

Lance returned her stare. “Actually, I’m pretty confident about beating him. I checked his times from last year. I’m faster. I also have a better coach,” Lance said with a lopsided grin. “I look forward to seeing how Keith competes against Lotor in the freestyle heat today. He won’t be drugged this time.”

Haggar’s glare intensified. “Watch your tongue.”

Lance stuck out his tongue and twisted his head around in an exaggerated manner while trying to look down at his mouth. He shrugged his shoulders and gave up. “I’ve tried to watch my tongue for years. Never quite been able to see it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get ready.”

Haggar snarled as Lance walked away from her. She pulled up her hood and walked over to her own team’s locker room.

\------

Lance wandered into the visitor locker room and looked for Keith. He passed by a few long rows of lockers with Garrison team members changing. Even the visitor locker room was huge compared to the Garrison High locker room. He finally got to the last row.

Keith was done changing into his swimsuit. He was bent forward digging in his backpack for goggles and a swim cap.

Lance stared at Keith bent over in his red accented swimsuit.

Keith stood up and noticed Lance staring. “What? Is there something on me?” Keith asked in a confused tone while cranking his head around to look at his backside.

Lance smiled. “No, just admiring your curves in that swimsuit.” Followed by his trademark double finger guns aimed squarely at Keith.

“Good grief Lance, are you ever serious?” Keith said with a grin.

Lance took a few steps forward and rested his arms on Keith’s shoulders. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips tightly against Keith. As he started to back away, Keith’s hand slid up his back, pulling him in again. When he felt Keith’s tongue pressing against his lips, he pushed back with his own. 

Keith withdrew his hand from behind Lance and pulled his head back. “You need to get changed. Shiro is expecting us out at the pool.”

Lance pulled his arms off of Keith’s shoulders and walked over to the locker to get his swimsuit. “You go on out. I’ll change and join you in a minute.”

Keith grabbed his towel. “Ok, but don’t take too long. There are a lot of Galra running around here that aren’t very fond of us,” he said and started for the exit.

Lance nodded and turned around to dig his swimsuit out of the locker. 

\------

Keith emerged from the visitor locker room just after several Galra team members came out of their locker room. There was no mistaking the flowing white hair and perfectly defined body in front of him. What attracted Keith at one point, now made his stomach turn in disgust. Lotor may have been beautiful physically, but his mind and personality were pure poison. Keith tried to take a wide path around them on his way to Shiro, but was spotted.

“Hello, Keith. Don’t you look dashing today in that suit? So much more appropriate for swimming than your underwear,” came the venom laden voice. “Haggar tells me we’re going to be racing one on one today. I was so thrilled when she told me your coach suggested it. A chance to show everyone just how pathetic you are.”

Keith stopped and turned to the Galra. “I can’t wait to kick your ass in the water.”

Lotor waved his hand dismissively. “I’ve already had your ass in the water, Keith.” He placed his hand on his chin in mock thought. “Come to think of it, I very nearly had a lot more than that. How are you feeling? Any fever or chills? Any uncontrollable arousal issues?” he asked as he slowly moved his hand from his chest down to his groin.

Keith felt his lips curl into a snarl. He started balling his hands into fists even though he’d promised Shiro he wouldn’t let Lotor get to him. He was just about to lunge forward when he felt a hand grip his shoulder tightly.

“It’s kind of sad that you have to use drugs to get people interested in you,” Lance said as he held Keith’s shoulder. “I can totally see why you’d be jealous of Keith’s equipment though. You hardly even fill out the front of your swimsuit.”

The flash of anger across Lotor’s face dissipated quickly. “I was right, Lance. You would have enjoyed playing with us at the beach. I think you would have liked Keith all worked up.You could have had your way with him. That would have been very entertaining to watch.”

Again, Lance pulled back on Keith’s shoulder to stop him from bolting forward. “Speaking of watching, did you see us come in on that beautiful blue hoverbike? That thing has some serious kick. Remind me to write a thank you note to its original owner.”

Now it was Lotor who started to lunge forward. Haxus and Prorok grabbed his arms before he could get very far.

“Good luck in the race, Lotor!” Lance yelled over his shoulder as he pulled Keith away from the confrontation.

When they were almost to Shiro, Lance stepped forward and turned to face Keith. “Focus. This is exactly what Shiro warned you about. Lotor likes playing mind games and now he’s got you all riled up. Focus on the heat and beat him in the water.”

Keith sighed and hung his head. “Sorry. He just brought back some bad memories.”

Lance gently shook him. “That’s all they are, memories. Now you get to make new ones. Like one of you beating him in the freestyle heat.”

Keith looked up. “You’re right. Plus, we get to make new memories of us.”

Lance forced a smile. “I hope so,” he said honestly. “Let’s get over to Shiro before he sends out a search party.”

\------

The Garrison High team circled around Shiro and waited for the first event to start. Lance looked up and saw his family waving to him from the stands. He waved back and then noticed Nyma and Florona were up front with the rest of the Garrison cheerleaders. She saw him looking and gingerly waved. Not one to prolong a grudge, Lance smiled and waved back. Looking over to the Galra side, the stands were full of people. It looked like most of the school was in attendance for today’s meet. High up in the stands, a group of private security officers surrounded an imposing figure.

“Zarkon,” Lance said to himself and looked away. Lotor was one thing to deal with, but Lotor and Zarkon in the same place was too much. He jumped when Keith poked him in the back.

“Woah, calm down. What has you on edge?” Keith asked as Lance turned around.

“Just nerves. My family is watching today.”

Keith looked over and waved to the McClain clan in the stands. Veronica jumped up and down as she waved back. 

The loudspeaker fired up and an announcement was made for the first heat participants to make their way to the pool. The meet was officially beginning.

\------

The Garrison contingent in the crowd was only a quarter the size of the Galra crowd, but you would never have guessed it by the noise they generated. The first couple heats went in Garrison High’s favor and the crowd responded in a deafening roar. The Galra team bounced back in the next heat and took the top two finishes. When the announcer called out the 100m backstroke as the next event, Lance pulled his swim cap on and snapped his goggles up over his eyes.

Keith whispered, “Good luck,” into Lance’s ear and stepped back.

When Lance got to the starting blocks, Haxus was positioned right next to him.

“No little imp with a taser to help you today,” Haxus said as he sneered at Lance.

Lance shrugged his shoulders. “You sure you’ll be able to swim after all that twitching you did?”

They were interrupted when the referee instructed them to get in the water. They propped themselves up against the wall as the starter told them to take their marks. Pulling themselves up out of the water, they waited.

Lance heard the starting buzzer and pushed off the wall with all his strength. After a few seconds of underwater kicking, he emerged and started his backstroke. He watched for the flags overhead and then flipped to kick off the wall for the return leg. Under the water, he saw that Haxus was right next to him. Lance increased his efforts. Pressing himself harder than he’d ever done in practice, he started to pull ahead of Haxus. When he touched the wall he heard cheering. He twisted around and saw Keith running to the edge of the pool yelling and smiling. Lance looked up at the scoreboard and saw he’d beaten Haxus by a half of a second.

“Way to go, Lance!” Keith screamed as he reached down to help pull Lance out of the water. Once Lance was on his feet, Keith gave him a big hug before they went back to Shiro.

Lance was still catching his breath when they got over to the rest of the team. His teammates patted him on the back and congratulated him. Shiro looked over and smiled while doing a very awkward imitation of Lance’s finger guns. 

Unfortunately, the tide turned after that. Haxus failure to beat Lance had sent Haggar into a raging fit and she spent the next few minutes screaming at her team. The negative motivation appeared to work since the Galra team placed first in the next several heats. Keith and Lance sat at the side of the pool watching as Galra High took the lead.

Lance looked over to the stands and noticed a large man in a suit talking to Nyma and Florona. He was holding the storage drive with Lotor’s files on it. Lance turned to Shiro who gave him a subtle nod indicating that was Shiro’s police friend.

Lance looked up and saw his 200m backstroke was next. He stood up and addressed the team. “Alright Lions, now is the time to step up. We can, and will, beat these guys. Their coach has to berate her team to get them to push harder. Our coach encourages and cheers us on. Their team is arrogant and self absorbed. Our team supports and encourages each other. Our team is a family. Their captain is a pompous dick. Our captain, well, he’s kind of a dick too,” he paused as the team laughed. “But, I guarantee you that if you were in trouble and needed help, your captain would be there for you. Lotor, he’d be too busy brushing his hair.” The team laughed again as Lance turned to Keith and smiled. “Our captain probably hasn’t brushed that mullet in months. He’s been too busy training and pushing himself. Now is our chance to push ourselves too. Let’s show these Galra what the Garrison Lions are made of!” 

The whole team stood up and put their hands in a circle. “Go Lions!” was heard throughout the stadium.

Lance pulled his goggles down and tucked his hair into the cap again as he prepared for the 200m backstroke.

Keith walked over just as Lance was heading toward the pool. “So, I’m a dick huh?” he said with a laugh.

Lance smiled. “Just a little one.” His smile changed to a smirk. “Actually, I know that isn’t true. I’ve seen the pictures.”

“Lance…” Keith said in a warning tone, but couldn’t wipe the grin off his face.

“Wish me luck, Mullet.”

Keith nodded, “Good luck, Lance.”

Lance jumped in the pool and pulled himself up into starting position. He ignored Haxus and the other swimmers. When the starting buzzer sounded, he pushed off and focused all his effort on speed. Lance shut out everything around him as he pushed his body to the limit. He had no idea where Haxus or the other swimmers were as he kicked into the last leg. As he strained himself, he felt the sensation at the back of his mind. It was an approving growl from his best friend. Blue was there for him. When he felt his fingers touch the wall, he raised his head and looked over to see his family screaming and jumping. He looked up at the scoreboard. Three seconds. He took first place by three seconds. Keith was standing at the side of the pool screaming along with several other teammates. They helped pull him out of the pool and everyone went back to Shiro cheering.

Whether it was Lance’s ridiculous speech or his amazing victory, the tide turned again. Garrison High took first and second place in the next several heats that followed. When the announcer called out the 400m freestyle as the next event, the Garrison team wished Keith luck and cheered as he made his way to the starting blocks. 

Lance walked with Keith toward the pool. “Remember, focus your anger on winning. Don’t let him get to you.”

Keith nodded. “I’m focused. He’s going down.”

Lance leaned in and kissed Keith on the cheek. “For luck,” he said.

“Fuck that,” Keith said and wrapped his arm around Lance pulling them close to get a proper kiss. After separating, Keith looked into those blue eyes again. “Now, I can’t lose.”

“Go kick his ass,” Lance said and smacked Keith’s backside as he walked away.

Keith stepped up to the starting block and faced his opponent.

“That was cute,” Lotor said. “So, who sucks who after practice? I wish you’d accepted the offer to join Galra High. Then that could have been us.”

Keith took one last look at the sneering Lotor as he got ready to take his mark. “That never would have been us. Unlike you, Lance has a soul,” he said. 

Keith remembered the advice from Shiro and Lance. He stopped listening to Lotor’s baiting and looked at the water. He focused on the subtle motion in the pool and ignored Lotor’s voice. The buzzer sounded and they both launched into the water.

Keith tuned out the cheering and yelling as he concentrated on beating Lotor. After the first turn, he saw Lotor pulling ahead. Keith tried to focus and channel his anger, pushing his body to the limit attempting to catch up. At every turn, he was behind Lotor. He pushed harder. Keith thought about what Lotor had tried to do to him and dug even deeper. On the next turn, he had gained slightly on Lotor. He remembered Lance’s advice on breathing and concentrated on that. His lungs burned and his limbs hurt, yet he would not give up. As he kicked off the wall again, Keith sensed something. A sensation poking at the back of his mind. The harder Keith pushed himself, the stronger the sensation got. It wasn’t a voice. It was something different. As he closed the distance with Lotor, the growling in his head increased. 

Lance watched with Shiro from the side of the pool. Keith was behind Lotor and it didn’t look good. The two teams and all the fans in the stadium were on their feet cheering for their chosen champion. On the next turn, Lance saw Keith start to gain on Lotor. At first it was a slight gain, but then Keith was surging. He closed the gap between them and on final kick off the wall, they were basically tied.

Keith flipped toward the wall and fed off the voice in his head. He launched himself with a massive burst of strength. The sensation in his mind enveloped him and let him focus all of his energy. He tuned out everything except his swimming and his mind. She was there for him. Red was there.

Lance saw Keith kick off the wall in the final lap. He practically climbed on top of Shiro as he cheered. The noise in the stadium was deafening. Everyone could feel the energy flowing from the two swimmers.

Keith touched the wall. Everything was quiet. He kept his eyes closed and head underwater. In the darkness, he felt Red. She purred in satisfaction that her chosen Paladin had pushed himself to the limit again. When Keith finally opened his eyes and raised his head from the water, Lance was standing over him beaming. 

“You beat him,” Lance said with his usual smile. “By a whole second.” He reached down and grabbed Keith’s hand to pull him up out of the pool.

Keith emerged onto the edge of the pool and his legs gave out. Lance caught him as he sat down. 

“Take it easy, that was some workout you just had,” Lance said as he ruffled Keith’s hair.

Keith looked up at Lance. “It’s real isn’t it? You’re not crazy.”

Lance’s eyes got wide and he knelt down in front of Keith. “What’s real?”

“Red. I can feel her. The Lions,” Keith stumbled over his words as his head moved in thought.

Lance looked over his shoulder to see the large man who had been talking to Nyma grab Lotor’s arm. “Hang on, Keith. I’ll be right back. Stay right there!”

Shiro stood with his arms crossed watching as Detective Kythylian Mu twisted Lotor’s arm behind his back. Lance appeared at his side.

“Is that your police friend?” he asked Shiro.

“Yeah. After reviewing the contents of Lotor’s phone, he’s arresting him for multiple counts of just about everything. Looks like your plan worked. Keith won and Lotor is going to prison,” Shiro said with pride. “You really turned out to be an amazing team member, Lance.”

Lance smiled and cocked his head to the side. “Thanks, Shiro.” He left Shiro’s side and walked over to the irate Lotor. Even though this wasn’t reality, the satisfaction of seeing Lotor lose was real for Lance.

“I demand to know the meaning of this!” Lotor snarled at the police detective.

Lance moved in front of the angry Galra swimmer. “It’s simple, Lotor. You’re going to pay for all the kidnapping, extortion, forced sex, and who knows what else that you’ve done. All those pictures and messages off your phone will put you behind bars for a very long time.”

Lotor tried to lunge at Lance, but Kythylian had a strong grip on him. “I swear, I will kill you. No matter how long it takes, I will hunt you down and cut out your heart…”

“Blah, blah, blah,” Lance cut him off. “Good luck with that. You’re going to be too busy in prison being someone’s princess. Sounds like karma to me.”

Commotion from the stands drew Lance’s attention. It looked like Zarkon and his entourage were coming down to find out what was happening with his son. He felt Shiro’s hand on his shoulder.

“I’ve got this, Lance. Go take care of Keith,” Shiro said and gave Lance a gentle push. “Get him out of here.”

Lance looked Shiro in the eyes and nodded. He turned around and ran back to the pool. He skidded to a stop and knelt down in front of a confused and disoriented Keith. Lance reached forward and grabbed his hands.

“This isn’t real is it? That’s what you’ve been trying to tell me this whole time,” Keith said in a quiet voice.

Lance squeezed Keith’s hands. “No, it isn’t. We’re inside your head. You were injured and basically stuck in a coma. I came in to get you.”

Keith blinked slowly. “It’s time to go back isn’t it?”

Lance nodded as he felt tears rolling down his face.

Keith pulled a hand away and reached up to gently wipe the tears from Lance’s face. “Why are you crying? You saved me.”

Lance leaned forward and hugged Keith as hard as he could. He was about to lose this Keith. It was either that or have Keith’s physical brain shutdown. There wasn’t really a choice. He let go and leaned back on his heels.

“I’m just happy,” Lance said truthfully. He really was happy here, but it was time to go. “Do you sense Red?”

“Yes, she’s there. I think she’s calling to me.”

“Focus on that. She’ll guide you home,” Lance instructed.

Keith closed his eyes and concentrated on Red’s presence. He felt the world slipping away when he heard Lance one last time.

“Keith? When I say Vol, you say?” Lance’s voice echoed.

Keith smiled. “Voltron,” he mumbled as the world went black.


	17. Reality

Chapter 17: Reality

Lance fell forward as someone caught his arm to steady him.

“Careful now. You don’t want to injure yourself and have to go back in there,” Coran said as he held onto Lance’s arm when he emerged from the stasis pod.

Lance squinted as he opened his eyes. The light in the healing chamber was bright. He leaned against Coran as he regained his balance. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he looked around the room. Pidge was working a command console with Allura by her side. To his left, Hunk and Shiro were helping Keith stand up.

“I’m fine, thanks. Just give me a minute,” Keith said as he leaned against his pod.

“Brain functions appeared to spike massively before the pods opened, but leveled off as they woke up,” Pidge told Allura. “I think they’re fine.”

Shiro took a step back and let Keith regain his equilibrium. He turned to Lance and smiled. “You did it. You got him out.” 

“How long was I in there?” Lance asked the group.

Allura moved from the console toward Lance. “About one of your months.”

Lance nodded as he stepped away from Coran. “Time progressed at about the same rate in there then.”

Pidge turned her attention from the console to Lance. “You remember what happened?” she said curiously.

Lance nodded slowly. He had a headache and just that little motion made him nauseous. “Yeah, I remember it.”

Pidge turned to Keith. “How about you?”

Keith scowled and slowly shook his head. He also had a headache and was nauseated. “The last thing I remember was Lance holding his hand against my wound in the Blue Lion.” He looked down at the dried blood around the tear in his Marmora suit. “What happened? How long have I been out?”

“Just over three months,” Shiro informed him. “You were wounded in an ambush and we raced you to a stasis pod. You were trapped in some sort of mental coma for two months before Pidge and Lance cooked up this crazy scheme to get you out.”

“I’ve been analyzing all the data and it looks like a feedback loop between the Marmora suit and the stasis pod caused you to enter a deep mental cycle,” Pidge explained. “I wired up another pod so Lance could sync to your subconscious. He went under to try and get you to wake up.”

Keith looked up at Lance. “Looks like I owe you one.”

Lance forced a smile. “Yeah, you do. I’m just glad you’re finally awake.” He felt drained emotionally and physically. The subconscious version of Pidge was right. Lance was the only one who remembered Keith’s dream.

“We should get him out of that Marmora suit,” Hunk suggested. “Who knows what other wires are crossed in it.”

Allura wrinkled her nose. “Plus they smell. You both need a shower. Shiro, help Keith to his quarters. Coran, help Lance to his.” She walked over to Hunk. “Once their stomachs settle, they’ll both be starving. We should go prepare a celebration meal.”

“Oh, yeah. I know just what to cook,” Hunk said excitedly and left with Allura.

\------

Coran walked with Lance to his quarters. “There you go. Now get cleaned up. Just give me a shout if you need help getting to the mess hall,” he said and left to go help Hunk and Allura. 

Lance opened the door to his quarters and stepped in. No dresser full of face creams. No fluffy pillows. No duckie pajamas. No blue colored Snowball to greet him. The dream was over.

He slowly stripped out of the stasis suit and got in the shower. The warm water helped get rid of his headache. His Altean soap here wasn’t quite as perfect as what he’d been using for the last month, but it didn’t dry out his skin either.

When he got done drying off, he pulled on his usual outfit and started out for the mess hall. Now that the headache and nausea were gone, he was hungry. Like the kind of hungry where he could eat an entire cow. Lance giggled to himself. He couldn’t eat Kaltenecker though. That would just be wrong.

When he arrived at the mess hall, everyone was already there. He made his way over to the empty chair next to Keith and sat down.

Hunk brought out plates of pasta and a few different sauces. He set them around the table and then sat down.

“This smells delicious!” Allura commented to the group.

“I know when I’m really hungry, a good pasta meal is the best way to fill up,” Hunk said proudly.

Shiro stood up and addressed the group. “Before we eat, I just want to salute our two returning Paladins. They both sacrificed a lot and we’re lucky to have them back with us.”

The group raised their glasses in salute to Keith and Lance.

Allura stood up next. “I especially want to thank Lance for his bravery. If he hadn’t cooked up that crazy idea and gone into Keith’s subconscious, we might not have Keith back with us today.”

Lance smiled at the praise. “Hey, it wasn’t just me. If Pidge hadn’t Frankensteined the stasis pods, it never would have worked. We’re all a good team.” He finished and was reaching for the food to satisfy his growling stomach when he felt a hand on his wrist.

Keith stood up and faced Lance. “I just wanted to say thanks. I know I’m a little tough to deal with sometimes and the fact that you were willing to risk everything to save my ass says a lot about how you’re the better Paladin, Lance.”

Lance wanted to hug him, but it didn’t seem right anymore. His emotional breakdown was thwarted by Pidge.

She adjusted her glasses as she stared at Keith. “I’ll scan Keith’s brain again when we’re done eating. Something might be loose,” she said as the team laughed.

The group dished up their food and started eating. Keith and Lance mauled through their pasta and leaned back in their chairs.

“So, what was it like?” Allura asked Lance after the meal.

Lance leaned forward and giggled. “You wouldn’t believe me.”

“Come on, tell us!” Hunk insisted.

“Yeah, I’m curious too,” Keith said as he looked at Lance.

Lance nodded. “Ok. Well first, Keith was a star swimmer. Like a shark in the water.”

“That seems a little far fetched to me,” Coran piped up. “Are you sure you’re not just making this up?”

Lance grinned. “Nope. I couldn’t make this up if I tried. Seriously, he was the team captain.”

Everyone was on the edge of their chairs as Lance relived the highlights of Keith’s dreamworld. He embellished a few things and left out the painful parts. The team didn’t need to know Lance just had his heart broken or how Lotor abused Keith. He focused on Keith’s swimming records and races.

“During the last race against Lotor, Keith finally made contact with Red and that was the rope he pulled himself home with,” Lance finished.

“Wow. You were really in a totally different world,” Shiro said in an amazed tone. “So, I was the coach?”

Lance smiled. “Yeah, you were leading the team there too. Keith’s subconscious did a good job of fitting you all in.”

Allura stepped in and ended the discussion. “Ok, that’s enough for now. These two are probably needing some real sleep outside the pods. We’ll pick up the discussion again in the morning. Welcome back you two.”

Keith and Lance got hugs from all their teammates when they got up. Keith pulled Shiro aside to talk as Lance said his goodbyes and walked out the door.

It felt good to be home, but Lance missed the dream world. He missed his family. He missed his version of Keith. He missed the pizza. Lance giggled at that last one. Hunk’s cooking was good here, but it had been better in Keith’s mind. A good night’s rest was what he needed. The morning would bring a fresh perspective and he would be back to his usual self. He’d go pay Blue a visit in the hangar and everything would be back to normal.

Lance was about to open the door to his quarters when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around to see Keith coming up behind him.

“Hey, I just wanted to say thanks again. You didn’t have to take that risk to get me out,” Keith said.

Lance cracked a slight smile. “You would have done the same if it had been me stuck in there. I just got my chance to be the hero this time.”

Keith smiled back. “Yeah, I would have done the same for you. We make a good team.”

Lance sighed. This was just too much to handle at the moment. “We do. I need to get some sleep though. We can talk more tomorrow.” He opened the door and started walking through. “Goodnight, Keith.”

Keith leaned up against the doorframe. “I still can’t figure out why you colored your cat blue though,” he said as Lance walked inside.

Lance stopped dead in his tracks. 

“I mean, it was cute, but kind of weird,” Keith said behind him.

Lance hadn’t mentioned the cat when he told the story at dinner. There was no way that Keith could have known about the cat. Unless…

“You asshole!” Lance started to say as he turned to face Keith. The words never quite made it out of his mouth since Keith covered it with his own. 

Keith put one hand behind Lance’s head and the other around his back. He wouldn’t let Lance pull away as they kissed passionately. 

Lance’s anger faded away quickly. He moved his hands around Keith’s back and pulled tight. 

They stood in the doorway of Lance’s quarters holding each other. When they finally came up for air, Lance glared at Keith.

“You asshole,” he said quietly. “Why didn’t you say anything when you woke up?”

Keith grinned. “I didn’t remember. The whole thing was foggy until you told the story at dinner. Every time you mentioned something, I remembered two other things. By the time you were done, I remembered everything.”

Lance smiled. “So, based on the kiss, we’re still together here?” he asked hopefully.

“If you’re ok with that,” Keith said cautiously. “None of what happened in the pods was real, but it’s what I’ve wanted for a while.”

Lance yanked Keith in to kiss again. He pulled his head back when he felt Keith grab his ass.

“Woah, take it easy. You’re the one that said he wanted to go slow,” Lance joked.

Keith pulled Lance against him. “That’s when I thought I'd only known you for three weeks. We’ve been dancing around this for far too long. Besides, how else are we going to figure out whether you’re more of a…”

“Stop!” Lance laughed. “I’m not sure I’m comfortable doing that. You’re half Galra. What if you have space rabies or something?”

Keith laughed and shook his head. “Always the smartass,” he said as he lifted Lance up and carried him through the doorway.

“Maybe we could flip a coin?” was the last thing Lance said as the door closed behind them.

\------

Allura entered the mess hall and looked around. Shiro was getting some food goo while Hunk and Pidge were slowly eating theirs at the table. She furrowed her brow and stomped over to the table. 

“Has anyone seen Lance?” she asked the group.

“Nope,” Hunk said without looking up from his food.

Allura’s voice took on a more frustrated tone. “What about Keith?”

“Nope,” Hunk said again between bites.

“Isn’t anyone worried about them? They’ve been missing for two days!” she said in an exasperated voice.

“They’re locked in Lance’s quarters,” Pidge volunteered while desperately trying not to giggle.

“What? For two days? Why would they lock themselves in his quarters for two…” she stopped mid sentence as her eyes widened. “Oh. Oh my.”

Shiro walked behind her trying not to laugh. “They’ll be out soon enough. I stopped leaving food outside his door last night,” he said and sat down to eat his lunch.

\------

Lance fell forward and laid his head on Keith’s sweat soaked chest as he tried to catch his breath.

Keith brought his arm up and laid it behind his head. “You know, we have to go back out there at some point.”

“Nope,” Lance said as he snuggled up against Keith under the sheets. They’d pulled Lance’s bunk mattress on the floor and borrowed another from the quarters across the hall to create a halfway decent sized bed.

Keith used his other hand to ruffle Lance’s hair. “Shiro left a note last night. He’s not leaving anymore food outside.”

Lance let out an exaggerated sigh and rolled over onto his back. “That’s just mean. I’ll starve.”

“We have been in here for over two days. It’s probably time we started thinking about going on missions again too,” Keith reasoned.

“Wow, two days,” Lance said in awe. “Doesn’t seem that long at all. How many times?”

“I lost count yesterday,” Keith said honestly.

“Me too. I think we should make the coin flip permanent though,” Lance suggested with a grin.

Keith rolled over on top of Lance and kissed him. “I can definitely live with that,” he said as they broke the kiss.

Lance reached over beside the makeshift bed and picked up an Earth quarter. “One last time before we go out and face the world?”

Keith smiled. “One more time.” His smile turned to a smirk. “Maybe two.”

“Oh! We could always get Pidge to wire up the stasis pods again for us. Then we could spend a few weeks in there,” Lance joked.

“Not funny, Lance. Not funny,” Keith said with a grin as he took the coin and flipped it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's been a fun ride. I hope everyone enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.


End file.
